Volcano Mahameru Outburst in Indonesia Triggers Evacuations

Indonesia's Semeru volcano, the highest peak on Java island, has erupted, blanketing several villages with falling ash, prompting evacuations and leading authorities to raise the warning to the highest level.

The volcano in the province of East Java released searing clouds of fiery ash and a mixture of rock, lava and gas that travelled up to 7km down its sides multiple times from noon to evening, while a dense plume of hot clouds rose 2km into the sky, according to Indonesia’s Geology Agency.

The outbursts that unfolded throughout the day compelled authorities to raise the volcano’s alert level on two occasions, from the level three to the highest, the agency reported. No deaths or injuries have been reported.

Over three hundred inhabitants in the three communities most endangered in the area of Lumajang were evacuated to official safe havens, according to a representative for the national disaster mitigation agency.

He said that increased activity of the volcano on Wednesday afternoon led officials to expand the danger zone to 5 miles from the crater. People were urged to stay clear from an area along the Kobokan River, which is the route of the lava flow, as scorching gases flowed down the volcano's sides.

Videos on social media showed a dense cloud of ash sweeping through a forested valley to a river beneath a overpass. Residents, some with faces covered with ash and water, fled to temporary shelters or left for other safe areas.

Local media indicated that emergency teams were struggling to save about 178 individuals stranded on the 3,676-metre peak at the Ranu Kumbolo monitoring post. The group included 137 hikers, 15 carriers, seven escorts and six travel representatives, according to an official with the national park.

“They are currently safe at Ranu Kumbolo monitoring post,” an official stated in a video statement. He noted the post was located 4.5km from the crater on the north side of the volcano, which is not in the path of the hot cloud flow that was seen moving to the south-southeast. Inclement conditions and rain required the group to remain overnight there, he explained.

The volcano, also called Mahameru, has erupted numerous times in the past 200 years. Still, as is the situation with many of the 129 live volcanoes in Indonesia, tens of thousands of people continue to live on its productive highlands.

The mountain's last major eruption was in December 2021, when 51 individuals were killed and several hundred others were burned and villages were submerged in thick mud. The eruption led to the evacuation of more than 10,000 people from their houses.

Indonesia, an island chain of over 280 million inhabitants, sits along the Pacific seismic belt, a curved series of fault lines, and is susceptible to earthquakes and volcanic activity.