JAKARTA: At least 800 people in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province have been evacuated after multiple eruptions of the area’s Ruang volcano, which for days has spewed lava and ash clouds into the sky, the country’s volcanology agency said on Wednesday ( Apr 17 ).
The mountain, located on Ruang area about 100km from the municipal capital Manado, has erupted more than three days since Tuesday.
Authorities have raised the alert level to the second highest level following the increased activity, Heruningtyas Desi Purnamasari, an official at Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation ( PVMBG), told Reuters.
Current earthquakes on the island caused the eruption of Mt. Ruang, which produced dangerous and “explosive warm skies” as high as 1. 8km into the horizon, she said.
We had clear the area because we anticipate more eruptions, they say. Within four kilometers of the volcano, she declared, there is no action.
Reuters surveillance footage showed dark lava flowing down the mountain, reflecting in the lakes below, and billowing clouds of gray ashes above its crater.
Ruang island is home to about 838 people, most of whom have now been evacuated to the nearest beach Tagulandang, said Heruningtyas.
Indonesia lies atop several tectonic plates in the region known as the” Pacific Ring of Fire,” which is a region with large geological activity.