A man inspects a truck buried in the ash following the eruption of Mount Semeru. Clouds of hot ash shot high into the sky and an avalanche of lava and searing gas swept as far as 7 miles (11km) down Mount Semeru’s slopes in a sudden eruption triggered by heavy rain. Villages and towns were blanketed by tons of volcanic debris
Photograph: Trisnadi/AP
Lumajang, Indonesia An aerial view shows where the Besuk Kobokan river used to run next to houses and farms and which is now covered with ash and mud following the eruption of the Mount Semeru volcano in the village of Curah Kobokan
I heard about this on the radio after the eruption :)
"Lava dome collapse is a common trigger of volcanic eruptions, and has been behind some of the deadliest eruptions in history. Collapse of the unstable dome of solidified lava is rather like taking the top off a fizzy drink bottle, depressurising the system and triggering an eruption. Lava domes sometimes collapse under their own weight as they grow, or they can be weakened by external weather conditions, as was evidently the case at Mt Semeru."
A man inspects a truck buried in the ash following the eruption of Mount Semeru. Clouds of hot ash shot high into the sky and an avalanche of lava and searing gas swept as far as 7 miles (11km) down Mount Semeru’s slopes in a sudden eruption triggered by heavy rain. Villages and towns were blanketed by tons of volcanic debris
Photograph: Trisnadi/AP
Lumajang, Indonesia An aerial view shows where the Besuk Kobokan river used to run next to houses and farms and which is now covered with ash and mud following the eruption of the Mount Semeru volcano in the village of Curah KobokanPhotograph: Adek Berry/AFP/Getty
Talk about outrage
"Lava dome collapse is a common trigger of volcanic eruptions, and has been behind some of the deadliest eruptions in history. Collapse of the unstable dome of solidified lava is rather like taking the top off a fizzy drink bottle, depressurising the system and triggering an eruption. Lava domes sometimes collapse under their own weight as they grow, or they can be weakened by external weather conditions, as was evidently the case at Mt Semeru."