Jember, E Java (Antara Bali) -- The volcanic activity of the erupting Mount Raung is still high, according to the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) of Jember district in East Java province.
"Based on reports received from officers of the Raung Observation Post in Songgon sub-district, Banyuwangi district, the area is still experiencing tremors due to the activity of the mount that is erupting," Head of the Emergency and Logistics Division of Jember's BPBD Heru Widagdo said here on Tuesday.
Between midnight and 6:00 a. m. local time on Tuesday, the officers reported that Mount Raung spewed thin, low pressured smoke to heights of 600 meters in the northwest direction, causing tremors with dominant amplitude of 29 millimeters.
From 6:00 a.m. till noon, a plume of low pressured smoke reaching heights of 400 meters was seen blowing northwest. Similar tremors with dominant amplitude of 29 millimeters were recorded.
"The tremors still occurring are a result of the continuous volcanic activity of the mount. Therefore, the status around the region is still Siaga (Alert Level III)," Widagdo explained.
The volcanic ashes are expected to continue to blow northwest and reach Jember district.
"The wind is blowing towards Jember, where residents have been asked to stay alert for volcanic ash fall," he cautioned.
Moreover, the authority has set an exclusion zone of three kilometer from the peak, restricting all human activity within the radius.
Mount Raung in East Java province erupted on July 5, spewing a plume of smoke, incandescent cinder and lava.
Head of the Data and Information Center of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that Mount Raung's eruption was the strombolian kind, which means that it is a relatively low-level volcanic eruption that includes the ejection of incandescent cinder and thin lava with medium pressured gases.
The eruption is not too strong but is continuous and long-lasting, he added.
Mount Raung is one of the active volcanoes on the Java Island. It is 3,332 meters above sea level and is located at the border of the districts of Jember, Bondowoso and Banyuwangi.
It has a 2-kilometer-wide caldera surrounded by a grayish rim. The difference between the color of the rim and that of the flanks of the volcano is caused by the rim's lack of vegetation as compared to the healthy and extensive vegetation on the flanks.
Furthermore, the volcanic ashes spewed by the erupting Mount Raung have been affecting the quality of tobacco grown in plantations in East Java.
The ashes damage tobacco as they clog the pores on the leaves and stems of the plants, which reduces the quality.
"If the quality of tobacco diminishes, it will lead to a fall in the price at which it is sold to exporters and manufacturers. Therefore, farmers may incur losses due to the eruption of Mount Raung," Deputy Head of the Indonesian Tobacco Farmers Association Hendro Handoko said here on Monday.
Although volcanic ashes affected plantations in all sub-districts of Jember, the most severe damage was caused to plants in the districts of Sumberjambe, Ledokombo and Silo.
In addition, Setiawan, a tobacco farmer of Jember, along with other farmers, is trying to remove the sticky volcanic ashes by spraying his plantation with water.
"The continuous rain of volcanic ashes over Jember has greatly affected our tobacco plantations and reduced its quality. As a result, the price will drop," he remarked. (WDY)
