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Ash cloud over the summit of Semeru this Sunday
Photo: AGUS HARIANTO / AFP
He is already spitting smoke and ash, many hundreds of meters high: After an eruption of the Semeru volcano on the Indonesian island of Java, the authorities have declared the highest warning level.
The fire mountain threatens the surrounding villages, said the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Management, hot
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avalanches
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of lava went down its slopes.
Most residents in the two most threatened villages have fled to safety, said a spokeswoman for civil protection in Lumajang.
According to the authorities, emergency shelters have now been set up.
A local TV station reported on residents taking shelter at a school.
Video footage shared by rescue workers, according to AFP news agency, showed a huge black cloud rising from the crater into the sky, blocking the sun.
In Japan, the eruption triggered a tsunami warning.
It applies to the Miyako and Yaeyama island chains in Okinawa Prefecture, the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported.
The almost 3700 meter high volcano is the highest mountain on Java and is located in the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park.
He has been more active again since December 2020.
Exactly one year ago, dozens of people were killed when Semeru erupted.
Several villages were then covered by mud and ash.
Almost 10,000 residents had to flee their homes.
Indonesia has around 130 active volcanoes.
The Southeast Asian island state lies on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire.
There, several tectonic plates collide, so that earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur particularly frequently.
Most recently, at the end of November, the earth trembled with such violence that numerous buildings collapsed on Java, including many schools.
More than 300 people died from collapsing buildings, but also from landslides.
According to the US Seismological Survey (USGS), the epicenter was near the city of Cianjur in the province of West Java.
ok/AFP