Jambi (ANTARA) - Jambi's Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) is preparing to dispatch personnel to Mount Kerinci, which has erupted several times so far and whose volcanic activity status has been raised to level II or alert.
Head of the Jambi Basarnas Kornelis said that in accordance with the Jambi Governor's direction, all agencies, including Basarnas, are preparing to keep equipment and personnel on standby in the Mount Kerinci area to anticipate any eruption.
The Jambi Basarnas post that is closest to the volcano, namely the Kerinci SAR Post, has already prepared the main equipment and tools, such as extraction equipment, treasure/evacuation equipment for high altitudes, evacuation equipment for forest mountains, communication equipment, and medical equipment.
"With the current status of Mount Kerinci, which has entered level II (alert), Basarnas has also reminded all people not to carry out activities around Mount Kerinci within a radius of three kilometers," he informed in a statement received here on Saturday.
Mount Kerinci continued to show some activity throughout the second week of January, with an eruption at 6:10 p.m. on January 12, 2023, sending volcanic ash up to a height of 1,200 meters, Kornelis informed.
He said that Jambi Basarnas also participated in the Mount Kerinci Eruption Preparedness Call at the PTPN VI Kayu Aro Field, which was led by the Governor of Jambi, Al Haris, and attended by related elements.
Governor Haris said the purpose of the preparedness call was to prepare all elements for disaster mitigation.
According to data from the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVMBG) observation post, Mount Kerinci erupted at 6:58 a.m. local time on January 14, sending a column of ash approximately 750 meters above the peak (approximately 4,555 meters above sea level).
The ash column was observed to be gray and thick and moving to the southwest and west. The eruption was recorded on a seismogram with a maximum amplitude of three millimeters and a temporary duration of approximately 11 minutes and 40 seconds.
Continuous tremors with an amplitude of 1–3 mm, dominant at 2 mm, as well as eruptions were still ongoing at the time the report was being filed.
The authorities have advised people and tourists to not venture within a three-kilometer radius of the top of the mountain, Kornelis said.
In addition, the flight route around Mount Kerinci will need to be avoided because it still has the potential to erupt and disrupt flights.
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