Authorities reported that Tuesday saw multiple eruptions from Indonesia’s remote Mount Ruang volcano, which prompted thousands of people to flee and issued the highest level of alert due to the possibility of a tsunami caused by debris sliding into the sea.
After the volcano erupted more than six times this month, forcing over 6,000 people to evacuate, the nation’s volcanology agency issued a warning that the threat posed by the volcano was still present.
Ruang, in the province of North Sulawesi, Indonesia, erupted twice that morning, starting at approximately 01:15 am local time on Tuesday (17:15 GMT Monday), according to a statement from the volcanology agency.
The volcano sent a tower of ash more than five kilometres (3.1 miles) into the sky, it added, as well as a fiery column of lava.
The national disaster agency BNPB estimated 11,000 to 12,000 people had to be relocated from near Ruang’s crater, spokesman Abdul Muhari told a press conference.
“Currently local disaster mitigation agency… military and police are evacuating residents,” he said.
Images released by the agency showed a molten red column bursting into the sky, a large ash cloud spilling from the crater and burning embers near local houses.
The disaster agency imposed a seven-kilometre exclusion zone around Ruang after volcanology officials warned locals of “the potential for ejections of incandescent rocks, hot clouds and tsunamis due to eruption material entering the sea”.
Abdul said a rescue ship and a warship had been dispatched to help move thousands from neighbouring Tagulandang island north to Siau island because of the tsunami warning.
“We urge people in Tagulandang island to stay away from coastal areas, to be on alert for the potential of a tsunami to occur,” he said, citing an 1871 wave that killed around 400 people after volcanic debris fell into the sea.
Relocations
More recent events also contributed to the tsunami fears.
In 2018, a significant eruption caused large portions of Mount Anak Krakatoa to fall into the ocean, causing a tsunami that claimed thousands of lives and left over 400 injured. The crater is located between the Java and Sumatra islands.
Ruang is home to over 800 people, all of whom were evacuated this month.
Some people returned home on Monday after the emergency response was completed, an AFP journalist reported.
How many residents had returned and how many were forced to evacuate again was unknown.
But according to Abdul, those who had previously been evacuated from Ruang were to be transferred to Manado, the provincial capital, where they would wait to be relocated because they were afraid of volcanic eruptions.
According to a notification from state-run air traffic control provider AirNav Indonesia, Ruang’s most recent eruption prompted authorities to once more close Sam Ratulangi international airport in Manado, which is located more than 100 kilometers away.
The notice said the airport was shutting down due to “Ruang volcanic ash”.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.
Read More
FDA Collects Samples from McDonald’s Following Consumer Complaints
