Jakarta, Dec. 5 (BNA): Improved weather on Monday allowed rescuers to resume evacuation efforts and search for potential victims after the eruption of the highest volcano on Indonesia’s most populated island, caused by monsoon rains.
Mount Semeru in Lumajang district in East Java province sent thick columns of ash more than 1,500 meters (nearly 5,000 feet) into the sky on Sunday. Falling ash blanketed nearby villages and towns, blocking out the sun’s rays, but no casualties were reported.
Hundreds of rescuers were deployed on Monday to the hardest-hit villages of Sumberwuluh and Supiturang, where tons of volcanic debris buried homes and mosques on their rooftops.
Heavy rains eroded and finally collapsed the lava dome over the 3,676-metre (12,060 ft) volcano, sending an avalanche of sharp gases and lava down its slopes toward a nearby river. Burning gas raced down the sides of the mountain, choking entire villages and destroying a bridge that had just been rebuilt after a powerful eruption last year.
Semeru’s last major eruption was in December 2021, when it exploded with fury killing 51 people in villages that were buried in layers of mud.
Several hundred more were seriously burned and the eruption forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people. The government has moved some 2,970 homes out of the danger zone, including those from the village of Sombrowolo.
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