Remote Indonesia volcano erupts again
Published: 05:04 PM,Apr 19,2024 | EDITED : 09:04 PM,Apr 19,2024
Mount Ruang volcano erupts in Sitaro, North Sulawesi
TAGULANDANG: A remote Indonesian volcano sent a tower of ash spewing into the sky Friday, after nearly half a dozen eruptions earlier this week forced thousands to evacuate when molten rocks rained down on their villages.
Mount Ruang in Indonesia's outermost region of North Sulawesi started erupting late Tuesday, stirring a spectacular mix of fiery orange lava, a towering ash column and volcanic lightning. Officials on Friday morning said Ruang had calmed, but it started to belch ash again hours later after authorities maintained the highest alert level and told residents to stay out of a six-kilometre exclusion zone.
The country's volcanology agency said the eruption sent a plume of smoke 400 metres above the peak. 'There was an eruption of Mt Ruang, North Sulawesi' at 1706 local time, 0906 GMT, it said in a statement. 'The ash column was observed to be grey in colour... leaning towards the south.' Hundreds of locals on neighbouring Tagulandang island were earlier seen cleaning up volcanic material from the harbour and their yards on Friday morning with the help of soldiers and police officers.
The volcanology agency had earlier warned in a statement that the volcanic activity at Ruang was 'still high' with potential dangers including flying rocks, hot clouds and lava flows. It advised all residents to wear masks to prevent respiratory issues. Houses elsewhere could be seen lying empty and electricity was out in parts of the island before Friday's eruption.
Officials said Thursday that communications had been knocked out on parts of both Ruang and Tagulandang, which is home to around 20,000 people. More than 6,000 residents of Tagulandang had been evacuated to the other side of the island that faces away from the crater, Joikson Sagunde said, an official from the Sitaro islands disaster management agency.
There were no reports of deaths or injuries but authorities said a day earlier they hoped to evacuate 11,000 people from the exclusion zone.
Some of those affected took cover in makeshift shelters at churches and school buildings.
Mount Ruang in Indonesia's outermost region of North Sulawesi started erupting late Tuesday, stirring a spectacular mix of fiery orange lava, a towering ash column and volcanic lightning. Officials on Friday morning said Ruang had calmed, but it started to belch ash again hours later after authorities maintained the highest alert level and told residents to stay out of a six-kilometre exclusion zone.
The country's volcanology agency said the eruption sent a plume of smoke 400 metres above the peak. 'There was an eruption of Mt Ruang, North Sulawesi' at 1706 local time, 0906 GMT, it said in a statement. 'The ash column was observed to be grey in colour... leaning towards the south.' Hundreds of locals on neighbouring Tagulandang island were earlier seen cleaning up volcanic material from the harbour and their yards on Friday morning with the help of soldiers and police officers.
The volcanology agency had earlier warned in a statement that the volcanic activity at Ruang was 'still high' with potential dangers including flying rocks, hot clouds and lava flows. It advised all residents to wear masks to prevent respiratory issues. Houses elsewhere could be seen lying empty and electricity was out in parts of the island before Friday's eruption.
Officials said Thursday that communications had been knocked out on parts of both Ruang and Tagulandang, which is home to around 20,000 people. More than 6,000 residents of Tagulandang had been evacuated to the other side of the island that faces away from the crater, Joikson Sagunde said, an official from the Sitaro islands disaster management agency.
There were no reports of deaths or injuries but authorities said a day earlier they hoped to evacuate 11,000 people from the exclusion zone.
Some of those affected took cover in makeshift shelters at churches and school buildings.