Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: Indonesia has issued alert warnings after the volcanology authorities reported hundreds of volcanic activities during the past week.
According to Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG), seventeen volcanoes across the country have been on level II alert status.
Marapi Volcano Observation Post (PGA) reported that the Marapi volcano in Western Sumatera, located on Sumatra Island, erupted 191 times on Saturday, spewing three hundred- to six-hundred-meter-high ash columns.
Ahmad Rifandi, the coordinator of the observation post, said in a written statement that the volcano has erupted for 8 days.
Sumeru volcano spews out seven hundred to 1 km high ash
Mount Semeru Monitoring Post said that the Semeru volcano, located on Java Island, erupted once on Saturday and twice on Friday. Spewing out seven hundred meters to 1 kilometer high white and grey ash columns with thick intensity.
Head of the monitoring post Mukdas Sofian advised all people who live surrounding the volcano to stay away at least 13 kilometers from the eruption range, as the volcano may throw hot stones and pour hot clouds and lava.
Sumero volcano, the highest in Java, erupted in December 2021, spewing up volcanic ash into the sky and raining hot mud on villages. The disaster claimed at least 51 lives and injured 169 others.
According to the PVMBG, the Ili Lewotolok volcano in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) erupted on Saturday, bringing the potential threat of lava.
The authority also said on Thursday that 3 volcanoes in Indonesia—Marapi, Kerinci and Marapi on Sumatra Island, and Anak Krakatau in Sunda Strait—erupted at nearly the same time on that day.
Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatau), has been intermittently active since it emerged from the sea at the start of the last century. The volcano is located far from the Java and Sumatra islands. However, it is near the busy shipping line connecting the islands. The volcano has erupted 4 times since Wednesday.
In all parts near each erupted volcano, the authorities have banned all climbing and hiking activities and the PVMBG has issued an early warning for flights transiting through those regions.
