The Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG) reported that eruptive activity at Dempo was recorded at 1338 on 23 November. Jets of dark material were ejected around 200 m above the lake’s surface, mainly to the N. The eruption lasted about four minutes based on the seismic data. According to a news article, there were 68 registered climbers on Dempo when the eruption occurred, though no one was near the summit at the time; the volcano was closed to climbers on 24 November. The Alert Level remained at 2 (on a scale of 1-4), and the public were reminded to stay 1 km away from the crater and as far as 2 km on the N flank.

Geological Summary. Dempo is a stratovolcano that rises above the Pasumah Plain of SE Sumatra. The andesitic complex has two main peaks, Gunung Dempo and Gunung Marapi, constructed near the SE rim of a 3-km-wide amphitheater open to the north. The high point of the older Gunung Dempo crater rim is slightly lower, and lies at the SE end of the summit complex. The taller Marapi cone was constructed within the older crater. Remnants of seven craters are found at or near the summit, with volcanism migrating WNW over time. The active 750 x 1,100 m active crater cuts the NW side of the Marapi cone and contains a 400-m-wide lake at the far NW end. Eruptions recorded since 1817 have been small-to-moderate explosions that produced local ashfall.

Sources: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM), Antara News