Residents of Java flee from ash cloud after volcanic eruption

Jakarta, Dec 4 (EFE).- Residents from several towns in Indonesia fled on Saturday from a huge cloud of ash caused by the eruption of an active volcano.

Videos posted on social media showed local residents of the town of Lumajang, in the southeast of the volcano, running away from a thick black cloud after the Semeru volcano, one of the most active in the country, spewed plumes of ashes.

The unexpected eruption occurred in broad daylight, at 15:30 local time (8:30 GMT), when the thick black cloud loomed over the towns forcing people to flee.

The Indonesian volcanology service has placed the area at level 2 risk (out of a maximum of 4) and issued a flight alert for aircraft flying in the region.

No casualties have been reported yet.

The Indonesian archipelago sits within the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of high seismic activity with 127 active volcanoes and is shaken by thousands of tremors a year, most of low magnitude. EFE

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