David Junior
Mount Bromo is one of the active volcanoes in East Java, Indonesia, and has become a popular natural tourist spot visited by international and domestic visitors. But, do you know that Mount Bromo has undergone dozens of eruptions until now?
Having a height of 2,392 above sea level, this mountain has a crater with a diameter of about 800 meters (north to south) and about 600 meters (west to east). This article will explain the long Mount Bromo eruption history you should know.
Mount Bromo Eruption History
Mount Bromo has erupted volcanic material until now. In the 20th century, it underwent three eruptions with particular characteristics. From year to year, Mount Bromo has erupted a dozen times, which are: 2015/2016, 2011/2010, 2004, 2001, 1995, 1984, 1983, 1980, 1972, 1956, 1955, 1950, 1948, 1940, 1939, 1935, 1930, 1929, 1928, 1922, 1921, 1915, 1916, 1910, 1909, 1907, 1908, 1907, 1906, 1907, 1896, 1893, 1890, 1888, 1886, 1887, 1886, 1885, 1886, 1885, 1877, 1867, 1868, 1866, 1865, 1865, 1860, 1859, 1858, 1858, 1857, 1856, 1844, 1843, 1843, 1835, 1830, 1830, 1829, 1825, 1822, 1823, 1820, 1815, 1804, 1775, and 1767 (initial eruption).
The greatest eruption occurred in 1974 and in 2015-2016, Mount Bromo erupted with thick vog and ash. Due to the 2015 eruption, tourism activity halted and the number of visitors decreased. Yet, the Mount Bromo activity does not stop the Tenggerese people, the locals residing on the mountain, activities.
The increase in activities recorded in the Mount Bromo eruption history has been around for approximately 200 years. Mount Bromo's eruption cycle is erratic. The shortest rest period is less than one year, while the longest rest period is 16 years.
This mountain's eruptions often have an effusive, explosive nature coming from the primary crater. The crater erupts periodically, releasing lapilli, ash, and occasionally, pieces of lava and volcanic bombs. Currently, the only activity seen on Mount Bromo is usually limited to puffs of thin to thick white smoke rising between 50 and 100 meters.
A Snippet of Mount Bromo Eruption History
After knowing the Mount Bromo Eruption history in brief, let’s learn some of the activities in several years.
In 2004, Mount Bromo erupted for 20 minutes with a relatively small eruption. The characteristic was irregular quake and tremor. Due to these activities, two victims were buried under the crater sands.
In November 2010, Mount Bromo had shown a signal of activities, making the government warn the locals to evacuate. Three square kilometers of desert were off-limits, and until December 4, 2010, there were no planes into Malang. The volcano erupted on November 26, 2010, spewing volcanic ash 700 meters into the sky.
Not long after the November 2010 eruption, Mount Bromo’s activities were seen continuing in January 2011 with volcanic dust and earthquake tremors dominating seismographs.
The next eruption was in 2015 when Mount Bromo spewed thick vog and hot ash. Until 2016, it was still unstable, making Mount Bromo’s administrator keep opening and closing the tourist destinations since they did not know when it would totally erupt.
The latest eruption was in 2019 when it burst several times for two weeks at various heights, from 500 meters to 1,500 meters. For security considerations, Pos Pantau Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG) also forbade tourism on Mount Bromo's summit and slopes. It was still at level II, but the locals were encouraged to put safety first.
Impact of Eruptions on Surrounding Communities
This natural disaster surely affected the surroundings, especially the villagers. The Probolinggo Regency's Sukapura District was the most severely impacted by Mount Bromo's 2010 and 2015 eruptions. The primary cause of the destruction was Mount Bromo's volcanic ash.
The eruption of Mount Bromo resulted in volcanic ash that destroyed homes, interfered with aviation operations, harmed people's respiratory systems, damaged agricultural land, caused crops to fail, destroyed clean water sources, damaged roads, and stopped tourism.
However, Pos Pantau Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG/ Monitoring Post for the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation) always observes Mount Bromo’s activities to learn the recent conditions and mitigate well.
Those are information about Mount Bromo eruption history you should know. Behind its beautiful scenery, it has had a long eruption journey until now. Now, you know the history behind the craters on this mount.
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