Lumajang, East Java, Jan. 29 -- Mount Semeru, located on the border of Lumajang and Malang districts in East Java, erupted on Thursday morning, spewing an ash column 700 meters above its summit.

"Mount Semeru erupted on Thursday at 7:20 a.m. The observed eruption column reached approximately 700 meters above the summit, or 4,376 meters above sea level," reported Mukdas Sofian, an officer at the Mount Semeru Observation Post.

He stated that the thick ash column appeared white to gray and was moving southeast. The eruption was recorded on a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 22 mm and a duration of 115 seconds. This followed an earlier eruption at 4:47 a.m., which produced a 500-meter ash column and lasted 123 seconds with a 20 mm am...