Highest alert status triggered

This handout photo taken and released from the Indonesia Geology Agency on December 4, 2022 shows the Glada Perak bridge hit by hot smoke and ashes from the Mount Semeru volcano eruption in Lumajang. (Photo by Handout / Indonesia Geology Agency / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Indonesia Geology Agency" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupted yesterday, spewing hot ash clouds a mile into the sky and sending rivers of lava down its side, sparking the evacuation of nearly 2,000 people exactly one year after its last major eruption killed dozens.The eruption of the highest mountain on Indonesia’s main island of Java, around 800km southeast of capital Jakarta, prompted authorities to raise the alert status to the highest level.

“Hot avalanches” caused by piles of lava at the tip of the 3,676m volcano slid down after the eruption, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesperson Abdul Muhari said in a statement.