JAKARTA, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Mount Semeru in Indonesia's East Java province erupted on Tuesday evening, sending an ash column about 1,000 meters above its summit, the country's volcanology agency said.
The eruption also produced a hot avalanche cloud that traveled about three kilometers to the southeast along the Besuk Kobokan river channel.
Monitoring officials said the thick gray ash drifted to the northeast and east, and the eruption lasted nearly five minutes with a maximum seismic amplitude of 12 mm.
Authorities urged residents to avoid activities within a five-kilometer radius of the crater and in the southeastern sector along the Besuk Kobokan river channel, extending up to 13 kilometers from the summit, due to the risk of pyroclastic flows, lava avalanches, and lahars. ■
