Indonesia's Semeru volcano spews ash, killing one, injuring dozens

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Indonesia's Semeru volcano spews ash, killing one, injuring dozens
Author of the article:
Reuters
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Publishing date:
Dec 04, 2021 • 17 hours ago • 1 minute read •
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People ride a motorbike on a road that is covered with volcanic ash following an eruption of the Semeru mount volcano at Sumberwuluh village in Lumajang regency, East Java province, Indonesia, Dec. 4, 2021, in this photo taken by Antara Foto.
People ride a motorbike on a road that is covered with volcanic ash following an eruption of the Semeru mount volcano at Sumberwuluh village in Lumajang regency, East Java province, Indonesia, Dec. 4, 2021, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Photo by Antara Foto/Hermawan /via REUTERS
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JAKARTA — The Semeru volcano on the Indonesian island of Java erupted on Saturday, killing one person, injuring at least 35 and trapping some people in buildings as it spewed out huge clouds of smoke and ash, officials said.

Videos shared by emergency officials showed residents running as towering plumes of smoke and ash blanketed nearby villages in East Java province.

The deputy chief of Lumajang district, Indah Masdar, told a news conference one person had died and 41 people had suffered burn injuries.

The disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said later that 35 patients were being treated at local medical facilities.
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Indah asked for helicopters to rescue people trapped inside buildings.

“We’re in big distress,” she said, adding there were at least 10 people trapped.

“It’s harrowing, their families are all crying.”

Thoriqul Haq, district head of Lumajang, said a number of sand miners were trapped near mines, but did not give further details.

Haq told Reuters that the road and bridge connecting Lumajang and the nearby city of Malang were severed.

“This has been a very pressing, rapid condition since it erupted,” he said. Haq added that evacuations were underway, but did not give details.

He later told news channel MetroTV that the severed bridge meant one nearby district had no access to medical help.

Authorities were setting up evacuation tents, the country’s disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said. But evacuations have been hampered by thick smoke, BNPB chief Suharyanto said.

AirNav Indonesia, which controls Indonesian airspace, said in a statement the eruption did not “cause significant impact” on flights. Semeru, the highest on Java island, is among Indonesia’s nearly 130 active volcanoes. It erupted in January, causing no casualties.

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Indonesia's Semeru volcano spews ash, killing one, injuring dozens

JAKARTA — The Semeru volcano on the Indonesian island of Java erupted on Saturday, killing one person, injuring at least 35 and trapping some people in…

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Indonesia's Semeru volcanic eruption kills 13; 10 evacuated
Author of the article:
Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:
Dec 04, 2021 • 7 hours ago • 1 minute read •
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Houses are seen covered by volcanic ash spewed out of Mount Semeru in Sumber Wuluh Village, Lumajang, East Java, Indonesia Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021.
Houses are seen covered by volcanic ash spewed out of Mount Semeru in Sumber Wuluh Village, Lumajang, East Java, Indonesia Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021. Photo by Zabur Karuru / Antara Foto /REUTERS
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JAKARTA — Ten people trapped after Indonesia’s Semeru volcano erupted have been evacuated to safety, the country’s disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said on Sunday, as the death toll from the disaster climbed to at least 13 and with dozens injured.
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Semeru, the tallest mountain on Java island, threw up towers of ash and hot clouds on Saturday that blanketed nearby villages in East Java province and sent people fleeing in panic.

The eruption severed a strategic bridge connecting two areas in the nearby district of Lumajang with the city of Malang and wrecked buildings, authorities said.

BNPB official Abdul Muhari said in a news release that 13 people have been killed after the eruption, two of whom have been identified. Ninety-eight have been injured, including two pregnant women, and 902 have been evacuated, the statement said.

Thoriqul Haq, a local official in Lumajang, said earlier that sand miners had been trapped around their work sites.

BNPB said at least 35 people had been hospitalized, while Lumajang’s deputy head said 41 people suffered burns.

Semeru, more than 3,600 meters (12,000 feet) high, is one of Indonesia’s nearly 130 active volcanoes. It erupted in January, causing no casualties.

Indonesia straddles the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” a highly seismically active zone, where different plates on the earth’s crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.

Separately, an earthquake of magnitude 6 struck north of Halmahera on Sunday, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. Halmahera is about 2,000 km (1,200 miles) northeast of Semeru.

Indonesia Semeru volcanic eruption kills 14; dozens injured

SUMBERWULUH — The

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Indonesia Semeru volcanic eruption kills 14; dozens injured
Author of the article:
Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:
Dec 04, 2021 • 21 hours ago • 2 minute read •
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Volunteers look as volcanic ash spews from Mount Semeru volcano during an eruption in Sumber Wuluh village, Lumajang, East Java province, Indonesia Dec. 5, 2021, in this photo taken by Antara Foto.
Volunteers look as volcanic ash spews from Mount Semeru volcano during an eruption in Sumber Wuluh village, Lumajang, East Java province, Indonesia Dec. 5, 2021, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Photo by Antara Foto/Umarul Faruq /via Reuters
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SUMBERWULUH — The eruption of Semeru volcano has killed at least 14 people and injured dozens on Java island, Indonesia’s disaster agency said on Sunday, as rescue teams searched for victims under layers of ash, sometimes digging with their bare hands.
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Semeru, the tallest mountain on Java, threw up towers of ash and hot clouds on Saturday that blanketed nearby villages in East Java province and sent people fleeing in panic.
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The eruption destroyed buildings and severed a strategic bridge connecting two areas in the nearby district of Lumajang with the city of Malang, authorities said.

A BNPB official said in a news conference late on Sunday that 14 people had been killed, nine of whom have been identified, and 56 people suffered injuries, most of them burns.

Around 1,300 people have been evacuated, while nine people remain unaccounted for, BNPB said.

Taufiq Ismail Marzuqi, a resident in the district of Lumajang who had volunteered to help, told Reuters that rescue efforts were “very dire” because of the severed bridge and volunteers lacking experience.
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In a video he recorded, police and military officials tried to excavate bodies with their bare hands.

Rescuers in the village of Curah Kobokan, also in Lumajang, found the body of a mother still holding her dead baby, the state news agency Antara reported.

A Reuters witness in the Sumberwuluh area said homes and vehicles were almost completely submerged by thick, grey ash, fallen trees blocked roads and a cow which villagers had been unable to rescue lay by the roadside, the witness said.

Hosniya, a 31-year-old local resident who was evacuated with her family, told Reuters that the eruption was very sudden.

“At first, I thought it was a bomb explosive…suddenly it was all dark, like it was going to destroy the earth,” she said.
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Hosniya and her family fled, unable to take anything with them other than their official papers.

RESCUE EFFORTS

Heavy rain is expected for the next three days, which could complicate evacuation efforts, a meteorological agency official said late on Sunday. Rock debris and hot volcanic sediment were already limiting movement, local rescuers said.

BNPB will rebuild the wrecked homes, and heavy equipment, including excavators and bulldozers, is being deployed, its chief said.

The agency also said that 10 people trapped in sand mines by the eruption had been evacuated to safety.

Semeru, which according to volcano experts has been in an eruptive phase since 2014, had started emitting hot clouds and lava flows recently, prompting the authorities to issue warnings for people not to go near it from Wednesday.
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Indonesia’s transportation ministry said on Sunday the eruption had not caused any disruption to flights, though pilots have been alerted to watch out for the ashfall.

Semeru, more than 12,000 feet high, is one of Indonesia’s nearly 130 active volcanoes.

Indonesia straddles the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” a highly seismically active zone, where different plates on the earth’s crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.

While many Indonesian volcanoes show high levels of continued activity, eruptions can be years apart. In 2010, an eruption of the Merapi volcano on Java island killed over 350 people and displaced 400,000.

Indonesia Semeru volcanic eruption kills 14; dozens injured

SUMBERWULUH — The

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Indonesia volcano erupts again as death toll rises

Mt. Semeru, the tallest mountain on the island of Java, erupted dramatically on Saturday
Author of the article:
Reuters
Reuters
Willy Kurniawan and Tommy Adriansyah
Publishing date:
Dec 06, 2021 • 13 hours ago • 2 minute read •
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Rescuers carry away a body of a victim at Sumber Wuluh village in Lumajang on December 6, 2021, after the Semeru volcano eruption.
Rescuers carry away a body of a victim at Sumber Wuluh village in Lumajang on December 6, 2021, after the Semeru volcano eruption. Photo by JUNI KRISWANTO /AFP via Getty Images
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SUMBERWULUH — An Indonesian volcano was active again on Monday, spewing out hot clouds of ash, two days after a powerful eruption killed at least 22 people and left dozens missing.
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Mt. Semeru, the tallest mountain on the island of Java, erupted dramatically on Saturday, shooting a towering column of ash into the sky that blanketed surrounding villages.

Aerial footage showed roofs jutting out of an ashen landscape, while on the ground, military officers, police and residents dug through mud with their hands to pull out victims.

The death toll had risen to 22 by Monday, while 27 were missing, Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said.

The volcano erupted again on Monday, Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation confirmed via its Twitter account, warning of continued seismic activity.

“Semeru is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia. Before and after the December 4 eruption, it will continue to be active,” Liswanto, the head of the Semeru Volcano Observatory, told Reuters.
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Some residents returned to their homes to check on belongings and livestock, but Liswanto urged people to keep a safe distance.
Damaged houses affected by the eruption of Mount Semeru volcano are seen in Pronojiwo village, Lumajang, East Java province, Indonesia December 6, 2021. Antara Foto/Seno/via REUTERS
Damaged houses affected by the eruption of Mount Semeru volcano are seen in Pronojiwo village, Lumajang, East Java province, Indonesia December 6, 2021. Antara Foto/Seno/via REUTERS

“People need to be more vigilant because the potential threat is still there,” he added.

In the Sumberwuluh area, rescue teams battled poor weather to retrieve victims from the rubble.

“The main obstacle is the weather… Hopefully the weather going forward will be good enough to make it easier for us to search,” Wuryanto, operations director of the national search and rescue agency (Basarnas), told reporters.

People have posted photos of missing loved ones on Facebook, with pleas for any information about their whereabouts.

Complicating logistics and rescue efforts, lava flows from Saturday’s eruption destroyed a bridge connecting two areas in the district of Lumajang with the city of Malang.

Public kitchens and health facilities have been set up for more than 1,700 people who have been displaced.

Semeru is one of more than 100 active volcanoes in Indonesia, a country that straddles the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of high seismic activity that rests atop multiple tectonic plates.

Indonesia volcano erupts again as death toll rises

Mt. Semeru, the tallest mountain on the island of Java, erupted dramatically on Saturday

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