ISTANBUL

Indonesia’s Mount Semeru volcano in East Java erupted five times Wednesday, sending volcanic ash as high as 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) above its peak, state-run media reported.

The first eruption occurred at 12.28 am local time (1728GMT Tuesday), with an ash column rising about 600 meters above the summit, the Antara news agency reported. The white-to-gray ash plume was of moderate intensity and drifted northward.

The strongest eruption was recorded at 5.36 am local time, when ash rose 1,000 meters above the summit and moved toward the northeast, said Liswanto, an officer at the Mount Semeru Observation Post.

The last eruption occurred at 8.06 am, according to Antara. It was recorded on a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 22 millimeters and lasted 125 seconds.

Authorities warned residents to avoid activities within 500 meters of the Besuk Kobokan riverbank, citing the risk that hot clouds and lava flows could travel as far as 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) from the volcano’s peak.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a zone of frequent seismic activity, and has more than 120 active volcanoes.