Eruption in Indonesia’s Tallest Volcano Leaves Thousands Displaced and 30 Dead

Death toll rises on the Indonesian island of Java as the eruption of Indonesia's Tallest Volcano dumped ashes into the country's East Java region.

Fatalities from the event left over 30 people dead, a dozen people missing, and 56 injured. Thousands are currently displaced as Mount Semeru continues to rumble to life yet again early this week. Officials had relocated some villagers out of danger zones, while search and recovery was still going on.

The Java island's highest mountain continued to erupt once on Monday and three times on Tuesday, Reuters reported. A team of researchers from Indonesia's volcanology agency were sent to look into dangerous zones for villagers to stay, while poor weather plagued the teams and slowed their efforts.

Since the disaster, effectiveness of the disaster warning system and hazard mitigation have been questioned. According to Ediar Usman, an official from the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG), some areas are "potentially no longer safe to inhabit."

"It's not impossible that a similar disaster could happen in the future," he added.

Poor weather disrupts recovery operations

Operational Chief of Search and Rescue I Wayan Suyatna told CNN that Monday's search operation was forced to a halt due to pyroclastic clouds and "dark and rainy" weather. In addition, the heavy rain from thunderstorms combined with the newly fallen volcanic ash created moving lahars, a roiling slurry of wet concrete that can destroy anything it ran into.

Eko Budi Lelono who heads the Gambar Center for Geological Survey, reported in The New York Times that the eruption was triggered by days of rain, which caused the lava dome atop the 12,060-foot Semeru to erode and collapse eventually. He adds that a team would be sent this week to examine the area, including experts from Yogyakarta who had studied the Merapi volcano near that city.

"The forecast for recovery efforts for the Mount Semeru volcano eruption is the chance for a thunderstorm each afternoon with temperatures rising into the middle to upper 70s," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Rob Richards. "Volcanic ash from the eruption will also cause low visibilities and dangerous health conditions due to the pollutants being put into the air."

Mount Semeru last erupted in January and is considered one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes.

Active volcano straddling the "Pacific Ring of Fire"

Semeru is one of more than 100 active volcanoes in Indonesia along the globe's area of high seismic activity that rests atop multiple tectonic plates. Its eruption sent thick columns of ash nearly 40,000 feet (12,200 meters) into the sky, that even villagers living up to 6 miles away have been urged to evacuate due to the risk of deadly pyroclastic flows.

Metres of molten ash entirely buried several villages and destroyed more than 100,000 homes. According to head of the Penanggal Lumajang Health Center, Dr. Lya Aristini,their healthcare facility was loaded with patients seeking treatment for volcano-related burns in severe condition.

In Indonesia, nearly 8.6 million people live within 10 km of an active volcano. In 2010, an eruption killed more than 350 people.