Highest warning level declared: Indonesian volcano Semeru spouts …

Residents within a five-mile radius of the crater were advised to leave the area. There is a tsunami warning in Japan.

Exactly one year to the day after its last eruption, Semeru volcano has erupted again on Indonesia’s main island of Java. The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Prevention reported signs of increased activity and issued the highest warning level 4 on Sunday.

From the early hours of the morning, the volcano repeatedly spewed hot ash up to 1,500 meters into the sky. The thick ash cloud descended on the area in a radius of seven kilometers around the crater. Nothing was initially known about injuries or damage.

The Volcanology Authority said the possibility of more tall ash plumes and pyroclastic flows — extremely fast lava flows — is very high. The Indonesian authorities imposed a total exclusion zone of five kilometers around the crater and a partial exclusion zone 13 kilometers on the southeastern slope.

Exactly one year ago an earthquake led to more than 50 deaths

At approximately 3,700 metres, Semeru is the highest mountain in Java and is located in the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park in the east of the island. It has become more active again since December 2020. When it last erupted in early December 2021, at least 50 people died and thousands had to flee the area.

The island country of Indonesia is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, the most geologically active region on Earth. There, many tectonic plates collide, so that earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur frequently. Only about two weeks ago they were at one Earthquake on Java More than 300 people died.

In Japan, a volcanic eruption triggered a tsunami warning. This applies to the chains of Miyako and Yaeyama islands in Okinawa Prefecture, Kyodo news agency reported.

(APA / AFP)