The plume from the volcano reached a height of 15km, said Japan’s Meteorology Agency, which was monitoring for the possibility of a tsunami there.
“Japan’s weather agency warned that a tsunami could arrive at the islands of Miyako and Yaeyama in the southern prefecture of Okinawa,” Kyodo news agency reported.
It said the tsunami could arrive by 2.30pm local time but there were no reports of any damage an hour after that time had passed.
ONE YEAR AFTER LAST ERUPTION
Internet was cut and phone signal was patchy after the eruption, according to an AFP journalist.
The local rescue agency distributed free masks to the public because of the threat of polluted air to vulnerable residents.
Mount Semeru last erupted exactly one year ago, killing at least 51 people.
The disaster left entire streets filled with mud and ash, swallowing homes and vehicles, with nearly 10,000 people seeking refuge.
Semeru’s alert status had remained at its second-highest level since its previous major eruption in December 2020, which also forced thousands to flee and left villages covered.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.
The Southeast Asian archipelago nation has nearly 130 active volcanoes.
In late 2018, a volcano in the strait between Java and Sumatra islands erupted, causing an underwater landslide and tsunami which killed more than 400 people.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)