Japan rules out tsunami impact from Java volcano eruption in Indonesia

Indonesian authorities raised the warning on Semeru volcano on the island of Java to the highest level after an eruption spewed a column of ash high into the air.

Semeru, the tallest mountain on Java, erupted last year killing more than 50 people and displacing thousands.

Mount Semeru volcanic eruption

Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupted Sunday spewing hot ash clouds a mile into the sky and sending rivers of lava down its side exactly one year after its last major eruption killed dozens.

The eruption of the highest mountain on Indonesia’s main island of Java, around 800 kilometres (500 miles) southeast of capital Jakarta, prompted authorities to raise the alert status to the highest level.

No casualties or injuries were reported immediately after the eruption but Gunawan warned nearby residents not to travel within eight kilometres (five miles) of the crater after the threat level was raised to four.

Villagers evacuated

Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said 1,979 people had been moved to 11 shelters and authorities had distributed masks to residents. The eruption began at 2:46 a.m. (1946 GMT on Saturday) and rescue, search and evacuation efforts were going on, Reuters reported. 

The volcano’s plume of ash reached a height of 50,000 feet (15 km), said Japan’s Meteorology Agency, which had initially been on alert for the possibility that the volcano could trigger a tsunami. It later ruled that out.

With 142 volcanoes, Indonesia has the world’s largest population living close range to volcano, with 8.6 million people within 10 km (6 miles) of one.

The deadly late-November quake that hit in West Java was 5.6 magnitude but at a shallow depth. A 6.1 quake struck at a deeper depth on Saturday sending people running from buildings but it did not cause major damage or casualties.