A volcano erupted on Sunday in Indonesia, spewing an ash cloud of 15 km in the sky and forcing the evacuation of almost 2,000 peopleaccording to the authorities, who issued their maximum alert for the eastern part of the island of Java.
There were no immediate reports of casualties from the Semeru volcano eruption and Indonesia’s transport ministry said there was no impact on air travel, but notices had been sent to two regional airports to keep an eye out.
“Most of the roads are closed since this morning and now it is raining volcanic ash and it has covered the view of the mountain”Bayu community volunteer Deny Alfianto told Reuters by phone from near the volcano.
Semeru, Java’s highest mountain, erupted last year killing more than 50 people and displacing thousands.
The Indonesian disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said that 1,979 people had been transferred to 11 shelters and authorities had distributed masks to residents. The eruption began at 02:46 local time. (1946 GMT Saturday) and rescue, search and evacuation efforts were continuing.
The ash column from the volcano reached a height of 15 km, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, which had initially been on alert for the possibility that the volcano could trigger a tsunami. He later ruled out that possibility.
The eruption, about 640 km (400 miles) east of the capital Jakarta, follows a series of earthquakes in West Java.including one last month that killed more than 300 people.
The Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) raised the level of volcanic activity to its maximum and warned residents not to come within 8 km (5 miles) of the Semeru eruption center.
Hot ash clouds have moved nearly 12 miles (19 km) away from the center of the eruption, he said.
The head of the PVMBG, Hendra Gunawan, said that a greater volume of magma could have accumulated compared to the previous eruptions of the volcano, in 2021 and 2020, which could mean greater danger for a larger area.
“The hot clouds from Semeru could reach further and at a distance where there are many residences,” he said.
In a video sent to Reuters by police in the area, residents were seen walking away from the slopes of the volcano, some with their belongings piled on motorbikes. A damaged bridge was covered in volcanic ash.
With 142 volcanoes, Indonesia has the world’s largest population living near a volcano, with 8.6 million people within 10 km (6 miles) of one.
A deadly late-November earthquake that struck West Java had a magnitude of 5.6, but was shallow. On Saturday, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck deeper and forced people to flee buildings, but caused no major damage or casualties.
(with information from Reuters)
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Source-www.infobae.com