Semeru volcano: 2,000 evacuated as Indonesia issues highest warning

A volcano has erupted in Indonesia, spewing a cloud of ash 15km into the sky and forcing the evacuation of nearly 2,000 people, authorities have said, as they issued their highest warning for the area in the east of Java island.

Semeru, the tallest mountain on Java, erupted last year killing more than 50 people and displacing thousands.

The eruption, 400 miles (640km) east of the capital, Jakarta, follows a series of earthquakes in the west of Java, including one last month that killed more than 300 people.

Hot ash clouds had drifted nearly 12 miles (19km) from the centre of eruption, it said.The PVMBG chief, Hendra Gunawan, said a bigger volume of magma could have built up compared with previous eruptions of the volcano, in 2021 and 2020, which could mean greater danger for a bigger area.In a video sent to Reuters by police in the area, villagers were seen moving away from the slopes of the volcano, some with belongings stacked on motorbikes. A damaged bridge was covered in volcanic ash.

The deadly quake that hit West Java in late November was 5.6-magnitude but at a shallow depth. A 6.1-quake struck at a deeper depth on Saturday, sending people running from buildings, but it did not cause major damage or casualties.