Thaindian News

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) — Indonesia’s Mount Bromo has had increased volcanic activity, prompting government officials to raise its alert status.

“We have recorded that Bromo’s activity has become more intense since November 8 and its fluctuations between shallow and deep volcanic earthquakes continue to increase,” said Raden Sukhyar, head of the Energy and Mineral Resource Ministry’s geological agency.

On Tuesday, Bromo’s status was raised to “alert,” but only hours later it was raised again to “beware,” the highest alert level, which is issued before an eruption.

“We want all people around Bromo to keep calm and not be provoked by eruption rumors,” Sukhyar said, adding that the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVMBG) is coordinating with the local government in case of emergency.

Mount Bromo is located in East Java, and is one of the region’s main tourist attractions. But with the increased activity, the national park management has warned climbers by closing off the area at a radius of 3 kilometers (2 miles) from its crater.

Bromo usually erupts once a year, but it rarely spews out debris or hat ash. It is located around 120 kilometers (70 miles) south of Surabaya, East Java’s biggest city, and about 275 kilometers (170 miles) east of Mount Merapi, which has killed at least 322 people with its recent eruptions.