ANTARA NEWS



 

 
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) confirmed that the eruption of Mount Semeru in Lumajang District, East Java, did not cause a tsunami.

After Mount Semeru spewed an avalanche of hot clouds on Sunday early morning, some news surfaced that the eruption of Mount Semeru could generate a tsunami in Japan.

"There are several reasons why this news cannot be accounted for, including Mount Semeru being a land volcano, with a distance far enough from the sea, so the potential for an eruption/pyroclastic /partial collapse will not reach the sea and cannot generate a tsunami," BNPB Acting Head for Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Abdul Muhari noted in a written statement received here, Monday.

Muhari later explained that Mount Semeru is located on the South of Java Island. If an avalanche were to occur, it would hit the south coast of Java Island due to volcanic activity. Hence, the tsunami is unlikely to reach Japan since it will be blocked by a group of islands in Indonesia.

Based on this analysis, the news circulating about the eruption of Mount Semeru will cause a tsunami to reach Japan is certainly incorrect, Muhari clarified.

The agency reminded all people to only trust news coming from authorized institutions in Indonesia, such as the BNPB; the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG); Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVMBG), regional disaster mitigation agency (BPBD), and other institutions mandated by the government.

Earlier, the PVMBG reported that Mount Semeru had erupted on Sunday at 2:46 a.m. local time. It emitted hot cloud, with an eruption column height reaching 1,500 meters above the peak.

The BNPB recorded that 1,979 people took refuge at 11 places after the mountain erupted.

The status of Mount Semeru has increased, from Level III (Alert) to Level IV (Caution) since December 4, 2022, at 12:00 local time.