Indonesian authorities said rescuers were rushing to evacuate 11,000 residents this morning after Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi erupted multiple times since Tuesday night.
This has also raised a bigger threat, where falling debris or the volcano could collapse into the sea and trigger a tsunami as it did in 1871.
The country’s volcanology agency reported that the 725m volcano has been spewing fiery lava and ash plumes thousands of feet into the sky, which resulted in the agency raising the volcano alert to the highest level. The volcano was still billowing a column of smoke on Thursday morning, prompting authorities to shut down Sam Ratulangi International Airport in Manado city for 24 hours.
Ruang Island is home to about 800 residents, who have temporarily relocated to neighbouring Tagulandang Island, according to authorities. Officials have warned those on Tagulandang to watch out for falling incandescent rocks and hot cloud surges.
Tourists and residents were warned to remain outside a six-kilometre exclusion zone.
No casualties have been reported.
Mount Ruang is a stratovolcano, which are typically conical and relatively steep-sided due to the formation of viscous, sticky lava that does not flow easily. Stratovolcanoes often produces explosive eruptions due to gas build-up in the magma, according to volcanologists.
In 2018, the eruption of Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau caused it to topple into the sea, triggering a tsunami that struck the coasts of the main Java and Sumatra islands, killing more than 400 people.
