These are hours of tension and anguish on the island of Java, where the authorities have evacuated almost 1000 people following the violent eruption of the Semeru volcano, one of the most active in Indonesia. The alert remains at the maximum level, while several houses and roads are reporting heavy damage.
Yesterday the volcano emitted a dense cloud of ash that rose up to 2 kilometers, darkening the sky, while lava flowed down the slopes, as shown by the images circulating on social media.
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A group of around 170 hikers were stuck in a campsite a few kilometers from the crater, but fortunately everyone was rescued and taken to safety.
Over 50 victims during the major eruption of 2021
At 3,676 meters high, Semeru is one of approximately 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, located in the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, an area of very high seismic activity where the convergence of tectonic plates generates numerous earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The last major eruption of the Semeru volcano dates back to December 2021: 51 people lost their lives in that catastrophe, while numerous villages were covered in ash.
