METMalaysia to continue monitoring developments on Mount Ruang eruption

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Meteorological Department (METMalaysia) will continue to monitor developments concerning the Mount Ruang volcanic eruption to assess its impact on Malaysia, said its director-general Muhammad Helmi Abdullah.

He said they are also conducting simulations to identify the potential occurrence of tsunami due to the eruption and its threat to Malaysia.

“No tsunami is expected (at this time), and METMalaysia will continue to monitor for any possibility considering that volcanic eruptions can cause tsunamis if there is a collapse of the caldera due to volcanic activity in ocean areas that could lead to the displacement of a large amount of seawater.

“The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) has issued a tsunami warning as a precautionary measure for nearby regions of the volcanic eruption area,” he told Bernama.

On April 16 at 9.45pm, a volcanic eruption occurred with an estimated height of 2,000 metres from the summit, according to the Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).

BNPB spokesperson Abdul Muhari, in a statement, said the situation worsened on April 17, with the eruption ash reaching 2,500 metres at 1.08 am. The Geological Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources warned that the potential tsunami wave due to the eruption of Mount Ruang in the Sitaro Regency, North Sulawesi, could reach 25 metres.