Hundreds Of Indonesians Flee Homes After Volcano Erupts

Jakarta : Hundreds of Indonesians remain in temporary shelters and about 190 people have been evacuated from the hillsides after a volcano erupted on Java’s main island, damaging homes and a school on Thursday, officials said.

Mount Semeru in East Java erupted on Wednesday afternoon, sending ash and gas flying more than 13 kilometers (eight miles) away and forcing authorities to raise the alert to the highest level.

Volcanic activity has largely calmed down but was still fluctuating Thursday, according to Indonesia’s geological agency.

Disaster agency official Sultan Syafaat said that after the explosion, approximately 900 people stayed in shelters set up in schools, mosques and village houses.

“They stay in shelters overnight because they are probably still traumatized,” he said. Local resident Faiz Ramadhani told AFP the explosion was “very scary”.

“At that time, it was four o’clock in the afternoon, around midnight. It was very dark,” the 20-year-old said. Some houses near the volcano were partially buried by volcanic ash and rock fragments. Nurul Yakin Pribadi, headman of Supiturang village, said he was “shocked” to see his house damaged.

“Meters of (volcanic) material spilled in my house,” he told AFP. “Many people’s homes were damaged.” At least one primary school was destroyed, Lumajang district secretary Agus Triyono said, adding that authorities were still collecting data on damage to infrastructure.

At least three people suffered burns, a search and rescue official said in a statement. Rudijanto Tjahja Nugraha, head of Semeru national park, said authorities evacuated about 190 people from the slopes of the volcano on Thursday, most of them hikers stranded in a campsite after the eruption.

In 2021, an explosion in Semeru killed more than 50 people, damaged more than 5,000 houses, and forced almost 10,000 people to take shelter. Indonesia lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, where the meeting of continental plates causes significant volcanic and seismic activity.

There are approximately 130 active volcanoes in the Southeast Asian archipelago.