Videos Show Semeru Volcano Erupt, Spewing Hot Ash as Thousands Flee

Videos of Mount Semeru erupting were posted to Twitter on Sunday morning, prompting authorities to evacuate nearly 2,000 people.

The volcano, which is located in Indonesia, made the country's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (CVGHM) issue its highest warning level to the area and alerted residents not to approach within 8 km (approximately 5 miles) of Semeru's eruption center.

CVMBG also warned residents to be aware of "hot avalanches, lava avalanches, and lava along streams and valleys" near the volcano.

Meanwhile, Agence France-Presse (AFP) tweeted a video of the eruption near Lumajang in East Java showing dark ash spew into the sky. The video also shows ash moving above multiple homes and villages.

According to Reuters, there were no immediate reports of casualties from the eruption, and Indonesia's transportation ministry said that there was no impact on air travel.

On Sunday, Indonesia's National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure, or BNPB, tweeted that 1,979 people were displaced due to the volcanic activity. The agency also said that there are no known reports of casualties at this time and that other agencies and volunteers continue to carry out rescue, search and evacuation efforts.

The Japan Meteorological Agency had initially been on alert for the possibility that Mount Semeru's eruption could trigger a tsunami near the island nation, according to Reuters. However, the alert was later ruled out.

Mount Semeru is the tallest mountain on Java island and also erupted last year killing more than 50 people, according to Reuters.

In an updated release posted online, the BNPB said 10,000 cloth masks, 10,000 medical masks and 4,000 children's masks have been distributed in hopes to "reduce the impact of respiratory health risks due to volcanic ash."

A video of the volcano erupting, shared by science journalist Dr. Robin George Andrews on Twitter, has been viewed more than 260,000 times as of Sunday afternoon. Andrews said Mount Semeru erupting has nothing to do with the ongoing eruption of Mauna Loa in Hawaii, as there are "anywhere from 20 to 50 volcanoes" erupting on Earth "at the same time."

Mauna Loa, one of the world's biggest and most active volcanoes, began erupting on November 27. The volcano is one of five that make up Hawaii and rises 13,000 feet above sea level.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) tweeted on Sunday that lava eruption on the Northeast Rift Zone of Mauna Loa continues, "but the threat to aviation of significant volcanic ash emission into the atmosphere has passed."

USGS added that Mauna Loa's eruption is now focused on a single vent at an elevation of 11,500 feet along the Northeast Rift Zone. Lava "fountaining at the vent" has been approximately 100 feet tall over the past day, "depositing fragments of volcanic material in the area near the vent," according to the agency.

Newsweek has reached out to multiple experts for comment.