LUMAJANG, Indonesia —Thousands of villagers residing close to Indonesia’s Mount Semeru had been racing for refuge Sunday to the wail of emergency sirens as lava snaked in the direction of their properties below a black sky after the volcano erupted.
Locals fled on motorbikes typically three at a time as a mushroom cloud of ash approached and monsoon rains lashed the world in East Java.
“It was dark and raining. The rain did not consist only of water, but also volcanic ash. It was like mud,” mentioned an AFP journalist on the scene.
Indonesian authorities raised their alert stage for the volcano to its highest after the crater spewed scorching ash a mile into the sky.
It got here solely a 12 months after the volcano final erupted, killing at the very least 51 individuals and laying waste to properties.
Rescue employees had been as soon as once more speeding to evacuate villagers within the space Sunday as a colossal plume of ash engulfed all mild.
One emergency responder, Gunawan, filmed the clouds above as a noon sky turned ominously darkish as if midnight.
“It’s getting dark, bro,” he mentioned to the digicam as a seismograph whistled within the background.
The web was down and cellphone alerts had been patchy however villagers had been alerted to the hazard by sirens and the beating of bamboo drums by native volunteers.
Semeru is the highest mountain on Indonesia’s principal island of Java and lies round 800 kilometres (500 miles) southeast of the capital Jakarta amongst a cluster of craters in a moon-like panorama.
The Southeast Asian archipelago nation has practically 130 lively volcanoes.
‘Cheers’
The eruption final 12 months left locals combing by ruined belongings after their properties had been blanketed in ash.
It stays to be seen what harm the eruption will inflict this time with the lava nonetheless edging in the direction of properties and their house owners instructed to stay eight kilometres (5 miles) from the crater.
Many villagers, principally ladies and youngsters, took shelter in native halls and colleges, some so far as 20 kilometres (12 miles) away.
Gunawan, who like many Indonesians goes by just one title, mentioned everybody was protected for now, even when their possessions and houses may not be by day’s finish.
As he flashed a peace signal at a digicam towards the backdrop of darkish haze and monsoon rains at his rescue publish, he tried to reassure individuals.
“Salam tangguh, salam presisi!” he mentioned, that means “cheers”, his voice relaxed however muffled behind a gasoline masks.—Agence France-Presse
