Mount Raung's Alert Status Increased after Sudden Eruption

TEMPO.CO, Bandung - The Geological Agency has raised the alert status of Mount Raung in East Java from normal to caution (Waspada) starting at 8 a.m. today, July 29, 2022. The raised status was determined based on the results of seismic monitoring and analysis.

The public and visitors or tourists are thus warned not to approach the crater. Public activities are still allowed outside of a three-kilometer radius from the mountain’s peak. People residing near the volcano are also asked to prepare masks and other necessary equipment to protect their eyes and skin.

“The current potential hazard is in the form of incandescent rock material, but its distribution is still limited in the crater, while ash clouds can spread further depending on the direction and speed of the wind,” said the agency’s head Eko Budi Lelono in a written statement.

The agency said it would keep monitoring and evaluating the development of the volcano activities in tandem with the local government and the regional disaster mitigation agency (BPBD).

On Wednesday, July 27, at 5.19 p.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB), the volcano, which is located in the west complex of Kawah Ijen, suddenly erupted, spewing ash clouds as high as 1,000-1,500 meters above the peak to the west and northwest directions.

The agency also recorded a heat anomaly on the surface of the crater through Terra and Aqua satellite images of 2 MW on July 28, 2022.

Mount Raung, standing at an altitude of 3,332 meters above sea level (mdpl), has erupted at intervals of one year at the shortest and 90 years at the longest. 

AHMAD FIKRI

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