TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
North Maluku volcano erupts, spews ash 7 kilometers into the sky
It is the latest of around 100 eruptions from the volcano since early this year.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
This handout photo taken and released by the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) on May 13, 2024 shows Mount Ibu spewing thick smoke in North Maluku Province. (AFP/PVMBG)
A
volcano in North Maluku erupted on Sunday, spewing an ash cloud seven kilometres into the sky as authorities warned residents to shelter indoors.
It is the latest of around 100 eruptions from the volcano since early this year.
Mount Ibu, located on Halmahera island, erupted at 12.45 pm (0345 GMT), sending thick clouds of ash into the air, Geology Agency head Muhammad Wafid said in a statement.
The eruption from the volcano -- which has been at the highest alert level of the country's four-tiered system since mid-May -- lasted for 6 minutes and 13 seconds, he added.
Ash was carried by the wind towards the volcano's monitoring station and an evacuation shelter next to it, but "there was no panic" among the evacuees, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Abdul Muhari said in a statement Sunday.
“People have been advised to avoid outdoor activities and shelter indoors while the ash mixed with sand is still raining down,” Abdul said.
He urged residents to use masks to prevent respiratory problems.
After the volcano was raised to the highest alert level on May 16, authorities warned locals and tourists not to enter an exclusion zone between four and seven kilometres (2.5-4.3 miles) from the volcano’s crater.
Authorities began evacuating residents not long after, with more than 2,500 people moved to shelters as of Sunday, according to local disaster mitigation agency data.
Ibu is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes, erupting more than 21,000 times last year.
According to the Geology Agency, Ibu recorded an average of 58 eruptions per day in 2023.
