Mount Semeru Vomits 700 Meter Eruption Ash

Mount Semeru on the border of Lumajang Regency with Malang, East Java. (Between)

JAKARTA - Mount Semeru on the border of Lumajang and Malang Regencies, East Java, erupted as high as 700 meters above the peak on Wednesday, October 16.

"There was an eruption of Mount Semeru on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, at 05.30 WIB with an eruption column height of about 700 meters above the peak," said Mount Semeru Observation Post Officer Yadi Yuliandi in a written statement in Lumajang, Wednesday, October 16, which was confiscated by Antara.

The height of the eruption of the highest mountain eruption on the island of Java reached 4,376 meters above sea level (masl), but had no significant impact on the activities of residents on the slopes of Mount Semeru.

"The ash column was observed to be white to gray with moderate intensity to the southwest and the eruption was recorded on a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 22 mm and a duration of 152 seconds," he said.

He said Mount Semeru was still on alert status, so the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) provided a number of recommendations, namely that people were prohibited from carrying out any activity in the southeast sector along Besuk Kobokan eight 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 13 km from the summit.

"People are also not allowed to move within a three km radius of the crater/peak of Mount Semeru because it is prone to the danger of throwing stones (lightning)," he said.

In addition, the public needs to be aware of the potential for hot clouds, lava avalanches, and rain lava along rivers/valleys that originate at the top of Mount Semeru, especially along Besuk Kobokan, Besuk Bang, Besuk Kembar, and Besuk Sat, as well as the potential for lava in small rivers that are tributaries from Besuk Kobokan.