Indonesia: Semeru volcano erupts, thousands flee their homes

View of a road covered in volcanic ash following an eruption of the Mount Semeru volcano in the village of Sumberwuluh, December 4, 2021. via REUTERS - ANTARA FOTO

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

In Indonesia, the Semeru volcano erupted.

It is located in East Java, the most populous island in Indonesia.

This is the second time that this volcano has woken up in just a year.

Several thousand people are displaced, entire villages threatened. 

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The region of Lumajang is plunged into darkness. 

The ash cloud that comes out of the Semeru volcano continues to grow in the sky.

The lava flows are advancing dangerously towards the villages.

A bridge was even destroyed by flames.

The emergency services then proceed to evacuations. 

A huge eruptive column formed at #semeru.

Density currents, lahars and heavy ash fall already affected the population.

At places day turned to complete darkness pic.twitter.com/zt03eHXuLJ

- Marco Pistolesi (@m_pistolesi) December 4, 2021

In the videos circulating on the Internet, we see the panicked residents fleeing their homes. 

Terrifying footage coming out of Java, where the island's tallest volcano #Semeru has had a major eruption.

The volcano has formed an eruption column 12 km high, and there are reports of casualties.

Video by @ Yoeni2909 pic.twitter.com/TmSlbb9oPR

- Paul Byrne (@ThePlanetaryGuy) December 4, 2021

The authorities have set up shelters in several places in the region to accommodate the victims.

They also established a five-kilometer security perimeter around the crater.

The last major eruption of this volcano was just over a year ago. 

Located in the Pacific Ring of Fire where more than a hundred volcanoes are active, Indonesia is used to this kind of phenomenon.  

In some parts of the archipelago, the seismic activity is so important that tsunamis are sometimes triggered at the same time as the eruptions.

This is what happened in 2018 between the islands of Java and

.

More than 400 people were killed by then. 

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• Natural disasters