Lava flows during an eruption from Mount Semeru in East Java Jan. 16.
Photographer: Agus Harianto / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Agus Harianto / AFP / Getty Images
Semeru volcano on Indonesia’s main Java island spewed hot ash up to 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) on Saturday, prompting authorities to warn people to keep their distance.
People should not be conducting activities within a 1-mile radius of the crater, the country’s national disaster response management said in a statement on Saturday. The volcano alert level was on “watch”, two notches below the highest “warning” rating.
Indonesia’s 18,000 islands lie along the Pacific Ocean’s “ring of fire” zone of active volcanoes and tectonic faults, making it prone to natural disasters such as eruptions and earthquakes.
Indonesian authorities have faced several natural and man-made disasters this month.
A magnitude of 6.2 An earthquake turned West Sulawesi upside down on Friday, killing dozens of people. Hundreds of people were injured and about 15,000 people were evacuated.
At least five people in Manado, North Sulawesi, died on Saturday from floods and landslides due to bad weather. Last week, at least 11 people, including rescue workers, were killed and 18 injured in West Java after heavy rain caused mudslides.
On January 9, Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 with 62 people plunged into the Java Sea shortly after take-off from Jakarta. No survivors were found.