Threat From Mount Semeru Not Over Yet

KOMPAS/AMBROSIUS HARTO

A village affected by the eruption of Mount Semeru in Kajarkuning Village, Candipuro District, Lumajang Regency, East Java, Sunday (5/12/2021).

Hot ash was still falling from Mount Semeru on Sunday (12/5/2021). When evacuating and dealing with effected residents, it is crucial to take account of potential rain on the peaks and slopes of the mountain.

LUMAJANG, KOMPAS — The Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center (PVMBG) of the Geological Agency has warned that the threat of hot ash falling from Mount Semeru in East Java has not yet passed. The residents have been advised to remain at least 1 kilometer away from the crater or peak of the mountain, and 5 kilometers away from the crater opening on the southeastern side.

"Hot ash may continue to fall. But it is still difficult to determine how much and how far the glide distance will be," PVMBG head Andiani said in Bandung, West Java on Sunday (5/12) afternoon.

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The eruption of Mount Semeru, which was followed by avalanches of hot ash as far as 4 kilometers from the summit, as well as lava flows, occurred on Saturday (4/12). As of Sunday, 14 residents had been reported to have died and at least 98 people had been injured as a result of the disaster.

Andiani said his office had reported an increase in Semeru's activity as hot ash continued to fall within 1.7 kilometers from the peak, or 700 meters from the end of the lava flow, on Wednesday (1/12). The latest situation of Mount Semeru’s activities has been reported to the local government, along with a map of the disaster-prone area.

The PVMBG has not raised Semeru's alert status. The alert status of the mountain, which has a height of 3,676 meters above sea level, remains at the second-highest of four levels since it began erupting in May, 2012.

Andiani said Semeru's activities were still dominated by earthquakes, eruptions and avalanches. Deep tectonic earthquakes have not been observed. The height of the ash columns has not exceeded 500 meters.

"The physical signs have not shown any intensity that needs to be upgraded, but we will further evaluate in the next few days, whether it needs to be increased or not," he said.

KOMPAS/AGUS SUSANTO

Aerial photo of the eruption of Mount Semeru which destroyed residents' homes in Kajarkuning Hamlet, Sumberwuluh Village, Candipuro District, Lumajang Regency, East Java, Sunday (5/12/2021).

The head of the Geological Agency at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Eko Budi Lelono, said hot clouds remained Semeru's main threat, but lava flows also needed to be watched out for, especially along rivers and valleys that originated from the peak.

"There are still several eruptions and avalanches of hot ash, at least three times a day, namely in the morning at 00:30 a.m., 5:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m local time. The sliding distance of the first two events could not be seen because visibility was compromised by fog. Meanwhile at 10 a.m. it occurred about 2 kilometers from the summit," Eko said at a virtual press conference on Sunday.

According to Eko, the sliding distance of the hot ash on Sunday was much shorter than that on Saturday (4/12). "We are still investigating the cause of the incident yesterday [Saturday] because the earthquake was the same [as before]. It is being investigated whether the hot ash flow was caused by the extreme rainfall," he said

Falling of hot ash was also observed from the Semeru Volcano Observation Post (PGA) on Mount Sawur at 10:25 a.m. on Sunday. "It cannot be said that it is safe because there is still the potential for more hot ash to fall," said Liswanto, the head of Mount Semeru’s PGA Post in Mount Sawur.

Residents in downstream areas are asked to increase their vigilance to reduce the risk of fatalities during lava flows.

In addition to hot ash avalanches, there is also the potential for lava flows because it is raining in the affected area. Residents in downstream areas are asked to increase their vigilance to reduce the risk of fatalities during lava flows.

The head of the Public Meteorology Center of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, Fachri Radjab, said light to moderate rains were predicted to continue to occur around Mount Semeru for the next three days. Even during the day there was the potential for heavy rains, he added.

"The evacuation process needs to be careful because there is the potential for rain on the peaks and slopes of Mount Semeru," he said.

Kompas/Bahana Patria Gupta

Refugees queue to get hot water to make boiled noodles at Supiturang 4 Elementary School in Supiturang Village, Pronojiwo District, Lumajang Regency, East Java, Monday (6/12/2021).

Based on observation, almost all buildings in Sumber Wuluh village, Candipuro, Lumajang, East Java, were damaged by hot ash from the Semeru eruption. The roofs of the houses, especially those made using asbestos, were broken. Thousands of residents fled to safe areas in nearby villages. Most of the areas were covered with a thick layer of ash. The debris and lava mixed with rainfall formed thick mud that destroyed rice fields. Trees as well as power poles were uprooted.

The local office of state-owned electricity company PLN was working hard to restore the electricity network in areas affected by the eruption. Electricity needs to be restored to support the evacuation of the victims and the handling of refugees.

The general manager of PLN in East Java, Priyanto, said the company was using eight additional portable generators with a capacity of 2.2 to 4 kilowatts (kW) and a power generator with a capacity of 23 kW to increase power supply in the affected areas.

According to PLN, as many as 112 electricity distribution substations were affected by the eruption, disrupting the electricity supply to customers. Of the total, 33 substations have been reactivated so the power supply to 7,697 customers has been restored.

Help is hampered

The cut-off access to the Lumajang-Malang road hampered the transportation of personnel and logistics to help affected residents. The aid had to be sent through Probolinggo, which is a longer route around the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru mountains.

As a result of the eruption of Semeru, access to Supiturang village, Pronojiwo subdistrict, has been cut off by fallen trees. Some residents in the village could not be evacuated.

The effort to reopen the roads is continuing but it will take time. The Gladak Perak Bridge linking Lumajang and Malang was destroyed, making it impossible for rescue personnel to reach the location quickly.

KOMPAS/NINO CITRA ANUGRAHANTO

Volunteers from the Indonesian Red Cross in Surakarta, Central Java, on Monday (6/12/2021) were ready to leave for Lumajang, East Java, to help residents affected by the eruption of Mount Semeru.

The head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Major General TNI Suharyanto, visited the disaster-affected location in Lumajang on Saturday. The BNPB rapid response team and logistical assistance have also been sent to Lumajang.

President Joko Widodo asked all levels of the government to immediately carry out an emergency response to overcome the impact of the Semeru eruption. Vice President Ma'ruf Amin also helped ensure that the emergency response could be carried out smoothly,

In a telephone communication with Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini, East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa and the Lumajang regent, Thoriqul Haq, the Vice President who was in Bali at the time instructed that the evacuation and handling of affected residents should be the main priority.

Meanwhile, men and women in the areas were asked to help and direct the evacuation team because they knew better about the condition in the affected areas.

In line with that, Thoriqul Haq said, the affected residents were the main priority in evacuation activities especially the elderly, sick people, mothers and children. Meanwhile, men and women in the areas were asked to help and direct the evacuation team because they knew better about the condition in the affected areas.

The evacuation team had difficulty to reach the affected areas as most of the access roads were covered with thick volcanic material. In fact, in a number of locations, the volcanic material that covered residents' houses was still hot. There is a need to deploy heavy equipment and hundreds of personnel to carry out evacuation activities.

MAGMA.VSI.ESDM.GO.ID

A screenshot of the map of the Mount Semeru disaster-prone area..

So far, the Semeru eruption has not disrupted commercial flights. The head of the Aviation Meteorology Center at the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Edison Kurni, said the volcanic ash also had not effected nearby airports. TAM/NIK/BR O/NIT/DIA/I NA / WKM /AIK)

(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi).