Indonesia volcano erupts, 800 people evacuated

Ruang Island has approximately 838 residents, most of whom have now been evacuated

Jakarta:

Indonesia’s volcano agency said on Wednesday that at least 800 people in the country’s North Sulawesi province have been evacuated after the region’s Ruang volcano erupted multiple times, spewing clouds of lava and ash into the sky for several days.

The volcano, located on Ruang Island, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the provincial capital Manado, has erupted more than three times since Tuesday.

Heruningtyas Desi Purnamasari, an official at Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center (PVMBG), told Reuters that authorities had raised the alert level to the second-highest level as activity increased.

She said Rouen’s eruption was triggered by recent earthquakes on the island, with the mountain spewing dangerous “explosive hot clouds” into the sky as high as 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles).

“We have to clean the island because we expect more eruptions. No activity is allowed within four kilometers of the crater,” she said.

Video seen by Reuters showed red lava flows cascading down the mountain, reflected in the waters below, and gray ash clouds billowing above the crater.

Heruningtyas said Ruang Island has about 838 residents, most of whom have now been evacuated to the nearest island of Tagulandang.

Indonesia straddles the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire,” a seismically active region that sits on top of multiple tectonic plates.

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