Overall Green alert Volcanic eruption for Semeru
in Indonesia

Event summary

GREEN alert: The Semeru Volcanic eruption is unlikely to require external humanitarian assistance based on the exposed population and coping capacity.

GDACS ID VO 1000035
Name: Semeru (263300)
Glide number: VO-2021-000194-IDN
Lat/Lon: -8.11 , 112.92
Event Date: 03 Jan 2022 UTC
Exposed Population 30km: About 870000 people within 30km
Exposed Population 100km: About 19740000 people within 100km
Max Volc. Explosivity Index VEI: 3
Population Exposure Index PEI: 5
Inserted at: 03 Jan 2022 09:33 UTC

GDACS Score

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Virtual OSOCC
Meteo assessment
Satellite products
Analytical products
Indonesia - Mount Semeru Volcanic Eruption (ECHO 05 Dec 2021)Sun, 05 Dec 2021 11:22

  • Explosive activity at Mt. Semeru escalated on 4 December with an explosion at 14:50 WIB (UTC+7) producing an ash plume up to 15.2 km
  • As of 08:30 UTC on 5 December, the national disaster management agency, BNPB, is reporting 13 fatalities, with seven people missing and dozens injured. Hundreds took refuge in evacuation halls.
  • Rockfalls and pyroclastic density currents have been reported by the seismic network and visual observations, while seasonal rain and thunderstorms that are forecast for the coming days present an increased risk of rain-triggered lahars. 
  • A number of villages have been covered in up to 4 metres of volcanic ash and sand, while housing, roads and bridges have been damaged. The BNPB is supporting in the immediate aftermath with helicopters, heavy machinery, food, shelter and PPE such as face masks. 
Indonesia - Mount Semeru volcanic eruption, update (ECHO 07 Dec 2021)Tue, 07 Dec 2021 12:12

  • On 6 December at 10.54 UTC, Mount Semeru, located in East Java Province,  erupted again and an ash column was observed approximately 1,000 m above the peak. The number of casualties, following the main eruption of 4 December has been rising.
  • The number of fatalities has increased to 34 and 17 people remain missing. At least 5,205 people affected, including 3,697 people displaced according to the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB).
  • More than 980 joint personnel deployed by national authorities are conducting the search and evacuation activities.
  • There is a need for further preparation of evacuation centres, public kitchens and vehicles for relief item distribution. At least 58 institutions, ranging from government agencies, NGOs, Indonesian Red Cross and private sector are providing assistance.
  • The alert level of the volcano stands at 2 (on a scale from 1 to 4) as reported by the Multiplatform Application for Geohazard Mitigation and Assessment in Indonesia (MAGMA). 
Indonesia - Floods and landslide (ECHO 09 Dec 2021)Thu, 09 Dec 2021 12:42

  • Widespread floods and landslides triggered by heavy rain have affected several parts of Indonesia since 5 December, resulting in casualties and damage as reported by the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre).
  • In West Nusa Tenggara Province, five people have died, one is missing and eight people have been injured. At least 6,500 people have been displaced, 66,800 affected and 8,600 houses damaged across the Province, following flood and landslide events.
  • In South Sulawesi Province, more than 4,800 people have been displaced, over 31,000 affected and 1,600 houses damaged due to floods.
  • In Bangka Belitung Islands Province, 5,130 people have been affected by floods as well as more than 1,000 houses. Furthermore, 2,000 people have been affected, and 400 houses damaged in East Java Province.
  • For the next 24 hours, light rain with localized thunderstorms is forecast over the aforementioned Provinces.
Detailed event map. European Union, 2024. Map produced by EC-JRC.
The boundaries and the names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the European Union.

Updates on volcanic activity (Smithsonian)

The Smithsonian/USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report provides information about global volcanism on a weekly basis. Latest Semeru report has been published on 29 Dec 2021 07:05.
PVMBG reported that the eruption at Semeru continued during 21-28 December. Crater incandescence was visible overnight during 22-23 December and four block avalanches traveled 800 m down the Kobokan drainage on the SE flank. Two pyroclastic flows descended the Kobokan drainage a maximum distance of 5 km. Dense gray plumes rose 500 m above the summit during 23-24 December and three avalanches of material traveled 500 m down the SE flank. At 1706 on 25 December and at 0902 on 28 December ash plumes rose 300 m above the summit and drifted SW and N, respectively. The Alert Level remained at 3 (on a scale of 1-4). The public was warned to stay at least 500 m away from Kobokan drainages within 17 km of the summit, and other drainages originating on Semeru including the Bang, Kembar, and Sat, due to lahar, avalanche, and pyroclastic flow hazards. Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)
See the detail here

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Estimated casualties (PAGER)

USGS estimates the number of casualties for each earthquake for the Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) product.
The graph shows the current fatalities estimate.

Exposed population

Data, images, links, services and documents

For this events, GDACS has links to information from the following sources: EC-JRC (32), (2), INGV (2), DesInventar (1), WMO (1), INFORM (2), JSR (1),