Posted on 12/04/2022 8:24:16 AM PST by BenLurkin
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia's highest volcano on its most densely populated island released searing gas clouds and rivers of lava Sunday in its latest eruption.
Monsoon rains eroded and finally collapsed the lava dome atop 3,676-meter (12,060-foot) Mount Semeru, causing the eruption, according to National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari.
Several villages were blanketed with falling ash, blocking out the sun, but no casualties have been reported. Several hundred residents, their faces smeared with volcanic dust and rain, fled to temporary shelters or left for other safe areas.
Thick columns of ash were blasted more than 1,500 meters (nearly 5,000 feet) into the sky while searing gas and lava flowed down Semeru's slopes toward a nearby river.
Increased activities of the volcano on Sunday afternoon prompted authorities to widen the danger zone to 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the crater, said Hendra Gunawan, who heads the Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center.
He said scientists raised the volcano's alert level to the highest and people were advised to keep off the southeastern sector along the Besuk Kobokan River, which is in the path of the lava flow.
Semeru's last major eruption was in December last year, when it blew up with fury that left 51 people dead in villages that were buried in layers of mud. Several hundred others suffered serious burns and the eruption forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people. The government moved about 2,970 houses out of the danger zone.
Semeru, also known as Mahameru, has erupted numerous times in the last 200 years. Still, as is the case with many of the 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, tens of thousands of people continue to live on its fertile slopes.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 270 million people, sits along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines, and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Ring of Fire is uppity.
The amount of heat generated from the earth’s core, released mostly in unseen and unrecorded deep ocean volcanoes and innumerable smokers, is the prime force that affects climate. the volcanoes in Hawaii and Indonesia are spectacular sights but only a very small percentage of the total heat being released. There are no good scientific parameters to measure the amount or how the earth generates that heat.
Feel bad for the Indonesians, they are having one super-crappy year.
Surf’s up in Australia!
Looks like the “ring of fire” is starting to act up. There’s been rumblings and minor earthquakes around the volcanoes in Hawaii and the Philippines recently too.
On the North side with the Salties…
I’m never going to Australia. Everything wants to kill you.
31 years ago was Mt. Pinatubo.
two biggies at the same time....relation to the one in hawaii?
Just a month ago the Taal volcano started rumbling back to life.
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13034053
Bad idea...you've gotta go. An amazing country! Your first stop should be Bondi Beach or Coogee Beach (both Sydney suburbs). Stunning!
I didn’t know about that one.
Thanks for the link.
I’m just aware of it because I’ve been daydreaming about retiring there. The area around the Taal volcano is much cooler temperature-wise because of its elevation similar to Baguio, but not so sure I’d want to be living anywhere near an active volcano.
Any hot blonde chicks?…
Bkmk
“Love.. is a burning thing..” /Johnny Cash. /Wall of Voodoo
Yep, all that magma gets to moving around during solar minimums. More EQs, more volcanic activity, more cloud cover, cooler temperatures.
How does this one compare to Mt. Pinatubo?
As of now, not even close. Pinatubo was large for recent times.
I think it was around 20 times more ejecta than Mt St Helens.
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/volcanoes/volcanic-explosivity-index.htm
I have a documentary on Mt Pinatubo. It’s a fascinating watch.
Matter of fact, this is it……
In the Path of a Killer Volcano: Mt. Pinatubo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBZX74ifvVw
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