Indonesia’s Ruang volcano eruption triggers mass evacuations
Indonesia declared a tsunami alert on Wednesday after the Ruang Mountain volcano erupted, sending ash and rocks flying thousands of feet in the air. Evacuations were already underway since the volcano’s first eruption at 9:45 p.m. local time on Tuesday. Located in the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia, the Ruang mountain is prone to consistent volcanic activity.
Authorities have warned tourists and locals to stay at least 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) from the 725-metre (2,378 foot) Ruang volcano, situated in the North Sulawesi Province of Indonesia. Disaster management authorities have evacuated 11,000 people from the surrounding regions so far and have issued a tsunami alert for the coastal regions of the archipelago.
Indonesia volcano eruption forces hundreds to evacuate
The Ruang volcano in North Sulawesi, Indonesia erupted for at least the third time in 24 hours on Wednesday, prompting authorities to raise the alert level to its second-highest level. pic.twitter.com/wY1sEJVJ8z
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The evacuated residents will be relocated to the closest city, Manado, on Sulawesi Island, after a six-hour journey by boat. In 2018, a similar volcanic eruption at Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano caused massive tsunamis along coastal Sumatra and Java after large parts of the mountain fell into the sea, killing 430 people.
Indonesia’s Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency raised its active volcano alert to the highest level, following four large eruptions on Wednesday. Authorities also reported heavy ash rain along with large chunks of rock and lava rained down the area, damaging several houses, forcing a nearby hospital to evacuate immediately.
Agency officials have warned locals, saying, “Be on alert for the potential ejection of rocks, hot cloud discharges, and tsunamis caused by the collapse of the volcano’s body into the sea.” The agency also stated that two recent earthquakes have accelerated the volcanic eruption.
Indonesia shuts down its provincial airport amidst a volcano eruption
A provincial airport has been shut down by disaster management authorities after the Ruang volcano erupted multiple times in the past 24 hours. The eruptions sent lave and volcanic ash flying up to 3 kilometres in the air.
Agency official Heruningtyas Desi Purnamasri stated, “The potential for further eruptions is still high, so we need to remain alert.” Transport authorities also closed Sam Ratulangi International Airport in Manado City, located 100 km away from Ruang Volcano.
The country’s air traffic control issued warnings of volcanic ash clouding the airspace, following which several airlines cancelled their incoming flights. Several flights between Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak and Brunei have been suspended with frequent disruption to major air routes.
After 22 years of silence, the Ruang volcano in Indonesia has been erupting for a few days : Ash cloud ejected to an altitude of 3-km as the activity level of the Mount Ruang in Siau Tagulandang Biaro (Sitaro), North Sulawesi, has escalated from Level III (Alert) to Level IV… pic.twitter.com/LqkN12Vktl
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Wednesday’s explosions were captured by several eyewitnesses, with many social media videos showing the volcanic explosion from close quarters. People were seen running to safety as the volcano rained fiery lava and rock on the surrounding areas.
Following the country’s volcano agency raising the alert level for the eruption, rescue authorities have expanded the evacuation zone even further. Over 800 residents were evacuated as authorities recognised the high risk of further eruptions. Officials also said that the island will be completely evacuated due to the high threat to life posed by the active volcano.
The neighbouring island of Tagulandang is also being evacuated following the ash clouds spreading over the archipelago. The disaster management agency’s spokesperson for Tagulandang, Abdul Muhari, said, “About 1,500 of those in high-risk areas needed to be immediately evacuated, he added, while almost 12,000 more stand to be affected.”.
Indonesians say the current eruption is the largest on record since 1871
Ruang volcano’s eruption on Tuesday, has triggered mass speculation among volcanology experts about the possibility of the mountain collapsing into the sea. Which will trigger a massive tsunami, wreaking havoc across coastal settlements in Java and Sumatra. The volcano last erupted in 2002 from September 25 to 29.
Indonesia is home to over 250 million people and has over 120 active volcanoes. Its position along the “Pacific Ring of Fire” makes it susceptible to frequent seismic activity and volcanic eruptions.
Indonesian authorities allege that the recent eruption of Ruang is the highest on record since the Ruang eruption of 1871. German zoologist and anthropologist Dr. Adolf Bernhard Meyer, an eyewitness to the 1871 eruption, recorded tsunami waves as high as 25 metres following the volcano’s eastern flank collapsing into the sea. The waves inundated 180 metres inland, killing over 400 people residing in coastal Java and Sumatra at that time.
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