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Sileri eruption: No cause for alarm or evacuation
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The terraced rice fields of West Java's Dieng Plateau are seen in this undated photograph. (Shutterstock/-)
T
he Sileri Crater, located on the Dieng Plateau in Banjarnegara regency, Central Java, sent smoke and mud into the air in a phreatic eruption on Sunday afternoon.
The eruption commenced with black smoke followed by thick white smoke reaching up to 150 meters high, followed by 150 meters of hot mud spewed into the air in all directions around the crater.
No toxic gases, such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide or sulfur dioxide, were detected in the eruption, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho .
“It was raining when the eruption took place, so not many tourists were visiting the area. There were no casualties of the eruption,” he said in a statement on Sunday.
A phreatic eruption, which was caused by steam from superheated and expanding groundwater, was difficult to detect and could happen at any time. Sutopo added that it could occur particularly during the rainy season, when water in the crater came into contact with volcanic heat, resulting in water vapor.
The last time the Sileri Crater had a phreatic eruption was on July 2, 2017 during the Idul Fitri holiday, when it spewed volcanic mud and other materials, directly affecting dozens of tourists.
Sutopo said that the Banjarnegara Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD), along with the local observation post of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (CVGHM), local security personnel and Dieng tourism management, were coordinating to monitor the crater. No further eruptions had occurred since Sunday.
“People can attend to their activities normally, there is no call for panic or evacuation. The Dieng [Plateau] also remains open to the public,” said Sutopo. He added that authorities had warned local residents and tourists not to approach within a 100-meter radius of the crater. (dpk/rin)
