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Mt Gamalama erupts
Mount Gamalama in Ternate, North Maluku: (Tribunnews
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Mount Gamalama in Ternate, North Maluku: (Tribunnews.com) (Tribunnews.com)
Mount Gamalama in Ternate, North Maluku: (Tribunnews.com)
Mount Gamalama in Ternate, North Maluku, erupted on 9:58 a.m. local time on Thursday, spewing dark clouds of volcanic ash around 1,500 meters into the sky.
The head of the Mt Gamalama observation post, Darno Lamane, said in Ternate on Thursday that the volcano had shown an increase in its volcanic activity since Wednesday, including volcanic tremors reaching 90 times.
The alert status, he said, of the volcano, which is 1,700 above the sea level, remained 'waspada' (caution), or level 2, from 'normal', or level 1.
'Officials from the Mt Gamalama observation post have continued to monitor the volcanic activity to determine whether they need to increase the volcano's alert status,' Darno said as quoted by Antara, adding that the post monitored the volcano visually and by recording its volcanic tremors.
Mt Gamalama's phreatic eruptions, he went on, had continued to occur, spewing dark clouds of volcanic ash to the north and northwest.
Following the eruption, Darno said the observation post had issued a warning letter, prohibiting people from any activity within a radius of around 1.5 kilometers from the crater. The post, he added, had also warned relevant institutions of a possible significant escalation in the volcano's activity.
Darno urged Ternate residents to stay calm and disregard all information except official information issued by the Mt Gamalama observation post and local administrations.
Meanwhile, Antara reported that activities at Babullah Airport in Ternate remained normal.
Mt Gamalama erupted lastly in December 2014. The eruption disrupted economic activities in Ternate and forced air authorities to close Babullah Airport for two weeks because of the thick volcanic ash. (ebf)
