JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities raised the warning on the Semeru volcano on the island of Java to the highest level on Sunday after an eruption spewed a column of ash into the air.
The evacuation of people, including children and seniors, living near the volcano in East Java province, has begun with 93 residents evacuated to shelters, Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency said in a statement.
A series of earthquakes in the west of the island, including one last month that killed more than 300 people, has resulted in an eruption on the eastern part of Java, about 640 km east of the capital Jakarta.
Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation PVMBG raised the level of volcanic activity to IV from III, according to a text message sent by the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation.
PVMBG chief Hendra Gunawan told Kompas TV that the increased threat level means the danger has threatened the people's settlement and the volcano's activity has escalated.
He said that the agency saw the potential for a bigger supply of magma this year compared to previous eruptions in 2021 and 2020.
Semeru's hot clouds could reach further this year and there are many residences at that distance, he said.
The alert level warned residents not to conduct any activities within 8 km of Semeru's eruption centre, adding that hot ash clouds had reached as far as 19 km from the centre of the eruption.