JAKARTA: A violent eruption at Indonesia's tallest volcano prompted authorities to impose an 8-kilometre no-go zone and to evacuate entire villages on Monday, putting thousands on high alert.
According to Tholib Vatelehan, a Basarnas spokesperson, the local search and rescue agency deployed teams to the worst-affected areas near Mount Semeru to assess the damage, with low rainfall providing some respite.
"Yesterday, the rainfall was heavy, causing all of the material from the mountain's summit to fall. However, there has been no rain today, so it is relatively safe "He stated.
No casualties have been reported, and there has not been any immediate disruption to air travel.
The 3,676-meter volcano erupted at 2.46 p.m. local time on Sunday (0746 GMT). Footage shot by local residents showed Mt. Semeru spewing a giant cloud of gray 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, the authorities said.
On Sunday, Indonesia's volcanology and geological hazard mitigation agency 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).