(RepublicanDaily.org) – Mount Ruang, one of Indonesia’s active volcanoes has erupted, with repeated violent outbursts of lava accompanied by ash fall and tremors prompting local officials to have the surrounding area evacuated and issue a tsunami warning.
More than 11,000 people living within the danger zone of Mount Ruang have been ordered to leave their homes and properties, with the volcano spewing ash thousands of feet into the air and erupting at least five times within a 24-hour timeframe. Located in the northern side of Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, people in the neighboring island of Tagulandang, which lies northeast of the volcano, have also been ordered to evacuate. Fortunately, the eruption has caused no casualties as of press time.
The Indonesian government is managing around the 800 evacuees who have agreed to leave. The evacuated residents are currently housed in Manado, also in Sulawesi, which is a 6-hour ride by boat away from the eruption site. The airport in the city has also been temporarily shut down due to the ash fall.
Officials have also raised the volcano alert to the highest level, and have limited public activity to no closer than 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) away from Mount Ruang.
A tsunami warning was also issued as authorities say that they are worried that a part of the volcano may fall into the sea, which could cause large waves, similar to what happened during an eruption of Mount Ruang in 1871. The most recent incident in the country was in 2018, when 430 people died in a similar incident when large chunks of the Anak Krakatau volcano fell into the ocean close to the Sumatra and Java coasts, causing a massive tsunami.
Indonesia belongs to what is called the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” a series of fault lines and volcanoes that stretches across the Pacific Ocean and affects several countries. Indonesia alone has 120 active volcanoes.
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