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The
provincial search and rescue agency deployed teams to the
worst-affected areas near Mount Semeru to assess damage, with
low rainfall giving some reprieve, Tholib Vatelehan, a Basarnas
spokesperson, told Reuters.
"Yesterday, the rainfall level was high, causing all the
material from the top of the mountain to come down. But today,
so far, there's no rain, so its relatively safe," he said.
No casualties have been reported and there has not been any
immediate disruption to air travel.
The 3,676-metre volcano erupted at 2.46pm local time on Sunday
(0746GMT). Footage shot by local residents showed Mt. Semeru
spewing a giant cloud of grey ash high above its crater, which
later engulfed the mountain and surrounding rice paddy fields,
roads and bridges, and turned the sky black. A video shared by
the Environment Ministry on Twitter showed a pyroclastic flow of
lava, rocks and hot gases gushing down the mountainside.
People fled the eruption on motorcycles, with almost 2,500
people forced to evacuate, authorities said.
Indonesia's volcanology and geological hazard mitigation agency
on Sunday raised the alert level for Mt. Semeru to the highest
level. The agency also issued a warning to residents not to
approach within 8 km (5 miles) of the summit, or 500 metres of
riversides due to risks of lava flows.
Semeru erupted last year killing more than 50 people and
displacing thousands more.
The eruption, some 640 km (400 miles) east of the capital,
Jakarta, follows a series of earthquakes in the west of Java,
including one last month that killed more than 300 people.
An archipelago of 270 million that sits along the Pacific Ring
of Fire, Indonesia is one of the most disaster-prone nations on
earth.
With 142 volcanoes, Indonesia has the largest population
globally living in close range to a volcano, including 8.6
million within 10km (6.2 miles).
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Writing by Kate Lamb; Editing by
Kanupriya Kapoor)
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