PVMBG Urges Residents to Stay Away from the Mount Dempo Crater in South Sumatra

Dempo Volcano, Pagaralam, South Sumatra (ANTARA/M Riezko Bima Elko P/)

JAKARTA - The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) warns residents not to enter the one kilometer radius of danger and the direction of the crater opening as far as two kilometers to the northern sector of Mount Dempo, South Sumatra.

This warning was issued considering the eruption activity that occurred in the form of throwing ash as high as 2,000 meters that came out of the crater of Mount Dempo on Tuesday night.

"The community, both visitors and tourists, do not approach and spend the night in the activity center of the Marapi crater on Mount Dempo. The crater is the center of eruptions and volcanic gases that can be dangerous to life," said Head of PVMBG Hendra Gunawan in a statement received in Jakarta, Antara, Wednesday, July 26.

On July 25, 2023, at 21:15 p.m. Western Indonesian Time (WIB), PVMBG recorded an eruption approximately two kilometers high on Mount Dempo.

The ash column looks white to gray with moderate to thick intensity leaning towards the south and southwest.

The eruption was recorded on a seismogram with a maximum amplitude of 35 millimeters and a duration of approximately 3 minutes and 24 seconds. "Currently Mount Dempo is at level II or on alert," said Hendra.

Mount Dempo has a height of 3,142 meters above sea level (masl) in Pagaralam City, South Sumatra.

The character of Mount Dempo’s eruption is a phreatic eruption that takes place suddenly and in a short time, emitting sulfuric mud, pyroclastic fallout, and water from the crater lake.