After being shaken by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake on Saturday, the island of Java in Indonesia is facing a new dramatic event with the eruption of the Semeru volcano which projects a large plume of ash and threatens populations.
The Semeru volcano, located on the island of Java in Indonesia, erupted early Sunday morning, throwing up a plume of ash, prompting authorities to ask people to avoid the area. The Indonesian Disaster Prevention Agency (BNPB) has asked residents not to travel within several kilometers of the center of the eruption and to stay away from river banks due to the risk of lava flows. . The alert risk has been raised to the maximum level. The volcano’s previous eruption killed 51 people.
Japan’s meteorological agency said it was monitoring whether a tsunami was generated following the eruption, broadcaster NHK reported. The volcano erupted at 2:46 a.m. local time (7:46 p.m. GMT Saturday), BNPB said in a statement, adding that volcanic activity remained at level III, below the most important level (IV).
This event comes following a strong earthquake that shook the Indonesian island of Java on Saturday, already bereaved by an earthquake ten days ago, without apparently having done significant damage this time, authorities said. According to the Indonesian geophysical agency BMKG, the epicenter of the magnitude 6.1 earthquake (it was initially estimated at 6.4) was once more located in the western part of Java, 118 km deep.
The earthquake was felt as far away as the capital Jakarta, 200 km from the epicenter, and very strongly in cities like Bandung, where residents took refuge in the streets. But according to the spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Abdul Muhari, no major damage has been reported so far. One person was injured and four houses damaged in the town of Garut, he said, adding that investigations are continuing in the western part of the island near the epicentre. The much shallower magnitude 5.6 earthquake recorded on November 21 in Cianjur killed more than 300 people, according to the latest official report.