JAKARTA, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's Mount Semeru in East Java province erupted several times on Monday morning, sending thick ash up to 1,100 meters above its summit, according to the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation.
An official at the Semeru monitoring post reported that the ash columns, ranging from white to gray, moved southward with moderate intensity.
By press time, the volcano had recorded at least seven eruptions since midnight. The activity began at 00:38 a.m. local time, with the most recent blast occurring at 9:29 a.m. The peak of this activity was observed at 6:51 a.m., when the ash plume reached its maximum height of 1,100 meters.
Authorities have warned the public to remain outside a 5-km radius of the summit. In the southeastern sector, the exclusion zone extends 13 km along the Besuk Kobokan river, with further warnings that lahars and pyroclastic flows could reach up to 17 km from the peak. ■
