M

ANADO: Mount Lokon in Tomohon city, North Sulawesi, erupted again on Wednesday afternoon, spewing red-hot lava.

Farid Bina, an officer at the Mt. Lokon observation post, said that the mountain’s volcanic activity had increased early in the morning when up to 100 small-scale earthquakes occurred.

“There has thus far been three eruptions from the Tompoluan crater,” Farid said, adding that the mountain was still placed under alert status.

Meanwhile, responding to the strong eruptions, the Tomohon city administration ordered people living on the slopes of the mountain to evacuate to safer locations. “The locations that may be affected by eruptions are about 2.5 kilometers from the slope boundary,” Tomohon Mayor Jimmy Eman said.

Despite the order, however, residents are reluctant to evacuate on the grounds that the lava may not flow in their direction, but instead to Manado and Minahasa.

“The wind blows westward so the hot ashes will not hurt us in Tomohon,” Nelson Uada, a resident of Kakaskasen village, said.

The last eruption of Mt. Lokon occurred on Aug. 28, 2011.