The Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG) reported that activity continued at Semeru during 30 July-5 August, with between 39 and 51 daily eruptive events recorded by the seismic network. Eruptive plumes rose between 400 and 900 m above the summit and generally traveled to the S and SW. The Alert Level remained at 2 (the second lowest level on a scale of 1-4). The public was warned to stay at least 3 km away from the summit in all directions, 8 km from the summit to the SE, 500 m from the banks of the Kobokan drainage as far as 13 km from the summit, and to avoid other drainages including the Bang, Kembar, and Sat, due to lahar, avalanche, and pyroclastic flow hazards.

Geological Summary. Semeru, the highest volcano on Java, and one of its most active, lies at the southern end of a volcanic massif extending north to the Tengger caldera. The steep-sided volcano, also referred to as Mahameru (Great Mountain), rises above coastal plains to the south. Gunung Semeru was constructed south of the overlapping Ajek-ajek and Jambangan calderas. A line of lake-filled maars was constructed along a N-S trend cutting through the summit, and cinder cones and lava domes occupy the eastern and NE flanks. Summit topography is complicated by the shifting of craters from NW to SE. Frequent 19th and 20th century eruptions were dominated by small-to-moderate explosions from the summit crater, with occasional lava flows and larger explosive eruptions accompanied by pyroclastic flows that have reached the lower flanks of the volcano.

Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)