Indonesian authorities raised the alert for Mount Semeru volcano after a series of eruptions. The volcano lies on the country’s most densely populated island. Indonesia’s Geology Agency said Mount Semeru in East Java province unleashed avalanches of searing clouds of hot ash and a mixture of rock, lava and gas that travelled up to 7 kilometers down its slopes several times. The eruption throughout the day blanketed several villages with falling ash and forcing authorities to raise the volcano’s alert level twice, from the third-highest level to the highest. No casualties have been reported yet.