Jakarta, Indonesia CNN —
Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupted on Sunday, blanketing roads and homes in volcanic ash and prompting the evacuation of nearly 2,000 residents in East Java province, the country’s authorities said.
A statement from Indonesia’s disaster management agency (BNPB) said no injuries or deaths had been reported so far and that evacuees had taken refuge in public facilities, including town halls and schools. More than 20,000 face masks have been distributed to mitigate respiratory health risks from volcanic ash, he added.
Mount Semeru, which is about 640 kilometers (400 miles) southeast of the capital Jakarta, began erupting at 2:46 a.m. local time Sunday (2:46 p.m. ET Saturday), according to BNPB. Videos shared by BNPB showed nearby villages covered in gray ash.
Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, PVMBG, said in a statement that the alert level of volcanic activity had been raised to the highest level 4.
The agency warned residents to stay at least 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) away from the center of Semeru’s eruption, adding that volcanic ash had reached up to 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) from the epicenter
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the plume from the eruption reached 15 kilometers (about 49,200 feet) in the air. The agency said in a statement on Sunday that there had been no tsunami impact after the eruption.
Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, sits on the “Ring of Fire,” a band around the Pacific Ocean that triggers frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.
With a height of 3,676 meters (12,060 feet), Mount Semeru is the highest volcano in Java and one of the most active.
More than 50 people died and thousands more were displaced when it erupted last year.
Compared to the 2021 eruption, PVMBG chief Hendra Gunawan said the agency saw the potential for a larger volume of magma from Sunday’s eruption.
“Therefore, Semeru’s hot clouds could reach further (this year) and there are many residences at that distance,” he said.
Sunday’s eruption in East Java follows a series of earthquakes in the west of the island, including one last month that killed more than 300 people.
The deadly November earthquake that struck West Java’s Cianjur was a shallow 5.6-magnitude tremor. A much deeper earthquake on Saturday in the town of Garut of magnitude 6.1 sent people fleeing buildings but caused no major damage.