Indonesia's Mount Semeru Erupts Seven Times, Ash Soars 800m High

(MENAFN) Mount Semeru in East Java unleashed seven volcanic eruptions within a three-hour window early Wednesday, propelling ash columns as high as 800 meters (2,624 feet) skyward from the crater, state media confirmed.

The initial blast struck at 4.58 am (2158GMT Tuesday), generating a dense gray ash cloud that drifted toward the northeast, a news agency reported.

Monitoring equipment detected seismic tremors with a peak amplitude of 22 mm during the 138-second event.

Additional eruptions materialized at 6.10 am and 6.56 am, launching ash plumes between 300 and 700 meters into the atmosphere, while a 7.05 am blast drove a 600-meter-high column northward.

The fifth explosive event achieved the maximum height of 800 meters, with two subsequent eruptions documented as surveillance teams maintained constant observation of the volatile peak.

Officials issued urgent warnings prohibiting all activities within 500 meters of the Besuk Kobokan riverbank, cautioning that pyroclastic flows and lava could surge up to 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) from the summit.

Positioned along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," Indonesia endures persistent seismic events and hosts over 120 active volcanoes across its archipelago.

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