Lumajang ( WNAM MONITORING): Mount Semeru, located on the border between Lumajang District and Malang District in East Java, unleashed a pyroclastic ash flow extending about four kilometers from the Mahameru summit on Friday afternoon.
“Mount Semeru released a pyroclastic ash flow reaching approximately 4,000 meters, and the eruption is still in progress as this report is being compiled,” Alfian said on Friday afternoon.
Based on closed-circuit television (CCTV) monitoring at 4:01 p.m., the pyroclastic flow was observed to have stopped about five kilometers from the summit.
Alfian reported that the eruption occurred at 3:13 p.m., with the eruption column reaching around 2,000 meters above the summit, or about 5,676 meters above sea level.
“The ash column was gray with high intensity, leaning toward the north and northeast. The eruption was recorded on a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 22 millimeters and a duration of approximately 19 minutes and 52 seconds,” he said.
Mount Semeru is currently on Level III (Alert) status. The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation has issued several recommendations, including advising the public to refrain from activities in the southeastern sector along Besuk Kobokan within a radius of 13 kilometers from the summit.
Beyond that distance, residents are also advised to avoid activities within 500 meters of the riverbanks along Besuk Kobokan due to the potential expansion of pyroclastic flows and lava flows that could reach up to 17 kilometers from the summit.
The public is further urged to avoid activities within a five-kilometer radius of the crater or summit due to the risk of falling incandescent rocks.
Authorities also warned of the potential for hot clouds and lava flows along rivers and valleys originating from the summit of Mount Semeru, particularly along Besuk Kobokan, Besuk Bang, Besuk Kembar, and Besuk Sat, as well as the possibility of lava flows in smaller tributaries of Besuk Kobokan.
