Indonesian authorities ordered hundreds of villagers to evacuate on Wednesday after a remote island volcano erupted multiple times, raising fears that it would collapse into the sea and trigger a tsunami.
Mount Ruang, a 725-meter (2,400-foot) conical stratovolcano on Ruang Island in North Sulawesi, has erupted at least five times since Tuesday night, spewing thousands of feet of lava and ash into the sky, according to the country’s volcanology agency.
Hendra Gunawan, the agency’s chief, stated that officials had raised the volcano alert to the highest level, warning people not to approach the peak within 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) for fear that Mount Ruang would partially collapse into the water and cause a tsunami, as it had in 1871.
“The force of Mount Ruang’s eruption is increasing and has emitted hot clouds of about 1.7 kilometres,” he told national news agency Antara, adding that the eruptions were caused by recent earthquakes in the area.
Dramatic footage of the eruptions shows plumes of grey ash rising into the sky and streams of glowing lava flowing down the mountain, accompanied by lightning strikes. The images also show villagers being evacuated.
According to authorities, Ruang Island has approximately 800 residents who have temporarily relocated to neighbouring Tagulandang Island. Officials warned residents of Tagulandang to be on the lookout for falling incandescent rocks and hot cloud surges.
There have been no casualties reported.
Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of 270 million people, has the world’s most active volcanoes, with over 120. It is located along the Ring of Fire, which is a 25,000-mile (40,000-kilometer) arc of seismic fault lines that circles the Pacific.
In 2018, the eruption of Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau caused it to topple into the sea, triggering a tsunami that struck the coasts of the main Java and Sumatra islands, killing more than 400 people.
