PGA: Dieng Sileri Crater Activities Are Not Stable

Screenshot of the Sileri Crater monitoring camera (CCTV) on the Dieng Plateau, Monday (6/1/2025) at 10.58 WIB. BETWEEN/HO-PGA Dieng

BANJARNEGARA - Head of the Volcano Observation Post (PGA) Dieng Surip said Sileri Crater activity in Dieng Plateau, Kepakisan Village, Banjarnegara Regency, Central Java, has not yet stabilized after two phreatic eruptions in the past month.

"On December 18, 2024, there was an increase, phreatics, and again on January 6, 2025, it was phreatic, but smaller than December 18, 2024. Now it is still not normal, it is not stable," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Friday, January 10.

His party is still waiting for data related to the development of Sileri Crater activities in the future. However, he said tourist destinations in the Dieng Plateau remain safe and can still be visited by tourists, except Sileri Crater.

"The Sileri spirit is still Alert (Level II) with a hazard radius of 500 meters," he said.

His party always socializes to the community, especially farmers who own land around Sileri Crater. The socialization, he said, is sometimes given every three months or when his party makes measurements in the crater.

"We did socialization to the people around him. Well, in the end they also knew that Dieng was like that," he said.

The eruption of a number of craters in Dieng, including Sileri Crater, occurred suddenly because it was not supported by other data.

He also gave an example when there was a phreatic eruption on December 18, 2024, his party did not see any signs that led to the incident.

"Because hydrothermal is like that, it's very shallow because it comes out of mud, not large rock material like 2021. But this is mostly mud and the ejection is also short, only 100 meters, that's what we see, maybe with the high rainfall, sedimentation that enters the crater," said Surip.

The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) since 19 December 2024 at 18.00 WIB has increased the status of Sileri Crater from Normal (Level I) to Alert (Level II) in line with the increase in activity in the form of a phreatic eruption from the eastern part of the crater which occurred on 18 December 2024 at 15.12 WIB.