Mount Semeru In Lumajang Back Eruption

Mount Semeru before the eruption was seen from the Mount Semeru Observation Post on Mount Sawur on the observations of the period 19 December 2023 at 00.00-06.00 WIB (ANTARA/HO-PVMBG)

LUMAJANG - Mount Semeru which has a height of 3,676 meters above sea level (masl) in Lumajang Regency, East Java has again experienced an eruption.

"The eruption is on a small scale and so far there has been no impact. There are no reports of volcanic ash rain or anything else," said Head of the Emergency and Logistics Division of the Lumajang Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) Yudi Cahyono as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, December 19.

According to him, Mount Semeru is still on alert or Level III, so that people do not carry out any activities in the southeast sector along Besuk Kobokan as far as 13 kilometers from the summit (the center of the eruption).

Beyond that distance, people are not allowed to carry out activities at a distance of 500 meters from the riverbank (river border) along Besuk Kobokan because it has the potential to be affected by the expansion of hot clouds and lava flows up to a distance of 17 km from the summit.

"People should not move within a 5 km radius of the crater/peak of Mount Semeru because it is prone to the danger of throwing stones (lightens)," he said.

Yudi appealed to the public to be aware of the potential for hot clouds of avalanches (APG), lava avalanches, and lahars along rivers/valleys that originate at the peak of Mount Semeru.

"Especially as long as Besuk Kobokan, Besuk Bang, Besuk Kembar, and Besuk Sat and the potential for lahars in small rivers which are tributaries of Besuk Kobokan," he said.

Meanwhile, officers from the observation post of Mount Semeru, Liswanto on Mount Sawur, Sumberwuluh Village, in a written report, stated that the highest mountain activity on the island of Java experienced an earthquake eruption and avalanche in the period 19 December 2023 at 06.00-12.00 WIB.

On seismic observations, 19 earthquakes were recorded with an amplitude of 18-22 mm and an earthquake of 85-110 seconds, then there were 2 avalanches with an amplitude of 6-8 mm with an earthquake length of 66-152 seconds.

For visual observations, Mount Semeru is covered in fog 0-II, crater smoke is not observed and the weather is sunny to cloudy, the wind is weak to the southwest.