Tuesday Morning, Mount Semeru Erupts And Eruptions Reach 900 Meters High Above The Peak

Eruption of Mount Semeru. (Doc PVMBG)

Mount Semeru, which is located on the border of Lumajang and Malang Regencies, East Java, erupted again on Tuesday, December 24, 2024, in the early hours of the morning. The eruption resulted in a column of ash as high as 900 meters above the peak or 4,576 meters above sea level.

"The eruption occurred at 00.09 WIB. The column of the eruption was observed to be gray with thick intensity leading to the northwest," said Mount Semeru Observation Post Officer Sigit Rian Alfian, quoted from ANTARA, Tuesday morning.

This eruption was recorded on a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 22 mm and a duration of 150 seconds. Based on seismic observations during the previous 24 hours, the activity of Mount Semeru was dominated by 55 eruption earthquakes with an amplitude of 11-22 mm and an earthquake duration of 64-160 seconds.

In addition, one avalanche earthquake with an amplitude of 4 mm for 125 seconds, nine gusts with an amplitude of 2-9 mm for 40-82 seconds, three harmonic earthquakes with an amplitude of 5-12 mm, one local tectonic earthquake with an amplitude of 20 mm, and six distant tectonic earthquakes with an amplitude of 6-36 mm.

Sigit explained that Mount Semeru is still in **Alert status ** (Level II). The Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) provides a number of recommendations for the public:

People are prohibited from doing activities in the southeast sector along Besuk Kobokan up to 8 kilometers from the top.

Beyond that distance, the community is also prohibited from doing activities within a 500 meter radius from the riverbank (bridge) 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 kilometers.

Activities within a radius of 3 kilometers from the crater or peak of Mount Semeru are prohibited, because they are at risk of being hit by incandescent stones.

The public is asked to be aware of the potential for hot clouds, lava avalanches, and rain lava along rivers or valleys that originate at the peak of Mount Semeru, especially Besuk Kobokan, Besuk Bang, Besuk Kembar, and Besuk Sat.

In addition, it is necessary to be aware of the potential for lahars in small rivers which are tributaries of Besuk Kobokan rivers.

PVMBG urges the public to always follow the development of official information regarding the activities of Mount Semeru to avoid potential hazards.