On Sunday, the nearly 3,700-meter-high Semeru volcano on the Indonesian island of Java erupted, spewing hot ash up to 1,500 meters into the air several times. Surveillance camera footage released Monday shows a deadly stream known as a pyroclastic flow hurtling down the mountain (see video above).
Pyroclastic flows are one of the greatest hazards in explosive volcanic eruptions. They are formed when rock and magma are torn apart into extremely fine volcanic ash during an eruption. Together with the escaping gases, they can move down the flanks of a volcano at speeds of up to 700 km/h. They destroy everything that stands in their way.
During the great eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Italy in AD 79, pyroclastic flows, with internal temperatures ranging from 300 to 700 degrees Celsius, were responsible for the destruction of the ancient cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Opolontis and Stabia.
Feuerberg has calmed down again
The Semeru has apparently calmed down in the meantime. “The volcano was clearly visible today,” the Center for Volcanology and Geological Risk Prevention said Monday morning (local time). Only thin white smoke could be seen near the top, it said.
Restricted area set up around the crater
Since the danger of pyroclastic flows at Semeru is high, Indonesian authorities imposed a total exclusion zone of five kilometers around the crater and a partial exclusion zone 13 kilometers away on the southeastern slope over the weekend, according to the country’s volcanology bureau.
A year ago, the Semeru eruption killed at least 50 people. Several villages were subsequently covered in mud and ash. Nearly 10,000 residents had to flee their homes.
Volcano is the highest mountain in Java
Mount Semeru is the highest mountain in Java and is located in the east of the island, in the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park, which is very popular with tourists for crater tours. The volcano, one of nearly 130 active fire mountains in Indonesia, has been increasingly active again since December 2020.
Source: Krone
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