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11,000 evacuated in northern Indonesia as Ruang volcano erupts
11,000 evacuated in northern Indonesia as Ruang volcano erupts
11,000 people have been evacuated from around the Ruang volcano in northern Indonesia amid fears of a possible collapse and tsunami after multiple eruptions. Mount Ruang, located in North Sulawesi Province, first erupted on Tuesday, followed by four more eruptions on Wednesday.
Quick Facts
- Mount Ruang in Indonesia erupted multiple times, leading to the evacuation of 11,000 people.
- The alert level for the 725-metre high mountain was raised to four, the highest on the scale.
- Officials widened the exclusion zone around the crater to six kilometres and expressed concerns about the potential collapse causing a tsunami.
Indonesia’s volcanology agency raised the alert level for Mount Ruang to four after the series of eruptions and widened the exclusion zone around the crater. More than 800 people were initially evacuated to nearby Tagulandang Island, but later everyone on Tagulandang was also required to be evacuated. There are concerns about the potential collapse of the volcano into the sea, which could trigger a tsunami, as observed during a previous eruption in 1871.
Video footage showed red lava streaming down the mountain and ash clouds above the crater. The head of Indonesia’s geological agency reported that the initial eruption sent an ash column two kilometres into the sky, and a subsequent eruption increased it to 2.5 kilometres. The recent volcanic activity at Ruang has been linked to two earthquakes in the region.
Indonesia, part of the ‘Ring of Fire’ with 120 active volcanoes, has a history of volcanic disasters. The 2018 eruption of Anak Krakatoa volcano led to a deadly tsunami along the coasts of Sumatra and Java after parts of the mountain collapsed into the ocean.
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