Indonesia’s Mount Semeru volcano in East Java erupted five times on Wednesday, sending volcanic ash as high as 1,000 metres (3,280 feet) above its peak, state-run media reported.
The first eruption occurred at 12.28 am local time (1728GMT on Tuesday), with an ash column rising about 600 metres above the summit, the Antara news agency reported.
The white-to-gray ash plume was of moderate intensity and drifted northward.
The strongest eruption was recorded at 5.36 am local time, when ash rose 1,000 metres above the summit and moved towards the northeast, said Liswanto, an officer at the Mount Semeru Observation Post.
The last eruption occurred at 8.06 am, according to Antara. It was recorded on a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 22 millimetres and lasted 125 seconds.
Authorities warned residents to avoid activities within 500 metres of the Besuk Kobokan riverbank, citing the risk that hot clouds and lava flows could travel as far as 17 kilometres (10.5 miles) from the volcano’s peak.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a zone of frequent seismic activity, and has more than 120 active volcanoes.
