Thousands on alert in Indonesia's Java after Mt. Semeru eruption

Thousands of residents in Indonesia's East Java were on high alert on Monday after a violent eruption at the island's tallest volcano prompted authorities to impose an 8-kilometer no-go zone and forced evacuations of entire villages.

The provincial search and rescue agency deployed teams to the worst-affected areas near Mount Semeru to assess damage, with low rainfall giving some reprieve, Tholib Vatelehan, a Basarnas spokesperson, Qazet.az reports via Reuters.

"Yesterday, the rainfall level was high, causing all the material from the top of the mountain to come down. But today, so far, there's no rain, so its relatively safe," he said.

No casualties have been reported and there has not been any immediate disruption to air travel.

The 3,676-metre volcano erupted at 2.46pm local time on Sunday (0746GMT). Footage shot by local residents showed Mt. Semeru spewing a giant cloud of grey ash high above its crater, which later engulfed the mountain and surrounding rice paddy fields, roads and bridges, and turned the sky black. A video shared by the Environment Ministry on Twitter showed a pyroclastic flow of lava, rocks and hot gases gushing down the mountainside.