Remote Indonesia volcano erupts again
TAGULANDANG: A remote volcano in Indonesia’s outermost region erupted again on Friday, local authorities and a journalist said, ater the crater threw up columns of smoke and lava multiple times this week and forced thousands to evacuate.
“The volcano erupts again,” said the AFP journalist on the island of Tagulandang which neighbours Mount Ruang.
The country’s volcanology agency later confirmed the eruption sent a plume of smoke 400 metres above the peak.
“There was an eruption of Mt Ruang, North Sulawesi” at 1706 local time, 0906 GMT, it said.
“The ash column was observed to be grey in colour... and leaning towards the south.”
While officials said Ruang had started to calm on Friday, authorities maintained the highest alert level on a four-tiered system, which indicates high volcanic activity.
They also told residents to remain more than six kilometres from the crater.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire.”
Earlier, Indonesian authorities were on alert for more eruptions from a remote island volcano that forced thousands to evacuate this week, as nearby residents began clearing debris ater molten rocks rained down on their villages.
Mount Ruang erupted nearly half a dozen times in 24 hours beginning late on Tuesday, stirring a spectacular mix of fiery orange lava, a towering ash column and volcanic lightning.
Authorities maintained the highest alert level on a four-tiered system, which indicates high volcanic activity, and told residents to remain more than six kilometres from the crater.
“Currently the volcanic activity... is still high, potential dangers that may occur are explosive eruptions producing incandescent rocks in all directions, followed by hot clouds or effusive eruptions (lava flow),” Muhammad Wafid, head of Indonesia’s volcanology agency, said in a statement. Hundreds of locals on neighbouring Tagulandang island were seen cleaning up volcanic material from the harbour and their yards on Friday morning with the help of soldiers and police officers, according to a journalist. Some described their panic and rush to safety when the eruption began.
“I evacuated. There was a house. I stayed there. And then it rained and rocks fell. I prayed ‘God have mercy, please help me God’,” Ninice Hoata, a 59-year-old teacher, told reporters on Tagulandang.