Semeru Erupts 8 Times in 6 Hours, Highest at 1.2 Km
The exclusion zone in Besuk Kobokan remains 13 km from the summit, with potential pyroclastic flows and lahars reaching 17 km.
Mount Semeru on the border of Lumajang and Malang, East Java, erupted eight times in six hours through Friday morning, with the highest blast reaching 1.2 kilometers above the summit at 05.15 WIB. The Semeru Volcano Observation Post recorded other eruptions starting at 00.24 WIB, with several blasts reaching 600-800 meters and some not visually observed. A white-to-gray ash column of moderate intensity drifted south. Semeru remains at Level III, or Siaga. Residents are barred from activity in the southeast sector along Besuk Kobokan for 13 kilometers from the summit, as well as within a five-kilometer radius of the crater. PVMBG also warned of potential pyroclastic flows, lava avalanches and lahars in the Besuk Kobokan, Besuk Bang, Besuk Kembar and Besuk Sat rivers.