Indonesia Raises Alert as Mount Semeru Erupts Again

A volcano on Indonesia’s main island of Java erupted on Wednesday, sending ash and gas kilometres into the sky and prompting authorities to raise the alert level to its highest tier.

Mount Semeru in eastern Java, around 310 kilometres west of Bali, erupted at 2:13pm local time (0713 GMT), releasing powerful pyroclastic flows, Indonesian geological agency chief Muhammad Wafid said.

“The public is advised to avoid activities within an eight-kilometre radius of the crater due to the risk of falling rocks and hot clouds,” he said in a statement.

The local disaster agency reported that the ash plume rose as high as 8.5 kilometres, though Wafid noted that dense fog made precise measurements difficult. Seismic activity around the volcano also remains elevated.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or evacuations.

Authorities at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport said flight operations were continuing normally.

A major eruption of Mount Semeru in 2021 killed more than 50 people, damaged over 5,000 homes and forced nearly 10,000 residents to flee.

Indonesia lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where the collision of tectonic plates triggers frequent volcanic and seismic activity. The archipelago is home to almost 130 active volcanoes.