There was a powerful eruption of the Ruang volcano in Indonesia. Authorities fear a possible tsunami, the Guardian reports.
The Ruang stratovolcano first erupted at 9:45 pm local time on Tuesday and then four times on Wednesday, according to Indonesia’s volcanology agency. The volcano’s activity may have been caused by two earthquakes that occurred here in recent weeks.
Authorities are concerned that part of the volcano could collapse into the sea and cause a tsunami, as happened in 1871.
Monstrous eruption of Ruang volcano, North of Sulawesi, Indonesia with ash reaching 63,000ft or 19,000m into atmosphere. Seen on IR satellite imagery too
Tsunami warning triggered for entire West coast pic.twitter.com/b1Y3gMfCMN
— Karnataka Weather (@Bnglrweatherman) April 17, 2024
The alert level for the volcano, which is 725 meters above sea level, was raised on April 17 from three to the highest level in a four-level system.
Also on April 17, authorities expanded the exclusion zone around the crater to 6 kilometers.
There were no reports of deaths or injuries yet, but more than 800 people were evacuated from two Ruang villages to the nearby island of Tagulandang. Now evacuation is taking place on this island, since in the event of a tsunami it will be under attack.
Indonesia’s national disaster mitigation agency said residents would be relocated to Manado, the nearest city on Sulawesi island, a six-hour boat ride away.
Indonesia, a vast archipelagic country, frequently experiences seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide that stretch from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific Basin.