JAKARTA, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Semeru volcano in Indonesia's East Java province erupted 10 times on Wednesday, spewing ash up to 600 meters over its peak, according to a report by the Mount Semeru Observation Post.
"The first eruption was recorded at 04:14 a.m. at dawn, with the height of the ash column observed around 500 meters above the peak, or 4,176 meters above sea level," said Ghufron Alwi, an officer at the post, in a written statement.
Not long after, the second eruption was recorded at 04:50 a.m., with the height of the ash column observed around 600 meters above the peak. The ash column was observed to be white to gray in color, with a thick intensity towards the northwest, according to the report.
Alwi said the following eruptions could not be clearly observed visually due to the thick haze.
Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation advised people living near the volcano to avoid doing activities within a radius of 3 km from the eruption point due to the risk of hot lava flows and hot rockfalls. ■