Bandung, West Java, Nov. 19 -- The Geological Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has raised the activity status of Mount Semeru in East Java to Level IV (Warning), effective Wednesday at 5:00 p.m.

Head of the Geological Agency, Muhammad Wafid, in a statement on Wednesday, noted that the status was raised from Level III (Standby) to Level IV after monitoring showed that the volcanic activity was still high and unstable.

The agency recommends that residents, hikers, and tourists refrain from all activities within an eight-kilometer radius of the volcano's crater and within the west to the northeast sectoral area 20 kilometers from the eruption center.

In addition, residents are asked to remain vigilant rega...