Indonesia Evacuates Residents After Semeru Eruption as Tsunami Alert Is Issued for Ruang

Overview

• Semeru in East Java produced explosive activity with pyroclastic flows and ash clouds reported as high as about 16 km, triggering a red aviation advisory from the Australian VAAC.
• Local disaster teams evacuated communities around Semeru, with roughly 900 people now in temporary shelters and 190 stranded hikers rescued from the national park.
• Authorities reported elevated seismic activity at Semeru and advised the public to keep clear of the summit area, with guidance in some notices extending to an 8 km radius.
• Separately, Mount Ruang north of Sulawesi prompted a tsunami alert and a six‑kilometre exclusion zone, with about 800 evacuations and preparations for the possibility of wider relocations.
• Flights were diverted around the ash-affected area, though Bali airport reported normal operations at the time, and no fatalities had been reported by national agencies.