Ibu's fury: Indonesian volcano erupts twice, tens of thousands on alert
A powerful volcanic eruption occurred on one of the Indonesian islands. The column of smoke and ash reached up to nearly 5 kilometres high. Thousands of people are at risk of evacuation, but it has not yet been ordered.
Indonesia is one of the most dangerous areas on the globe in terms of volcanic activity. Eruptions happen there often, but the last one was huge and spectacular. On Monday, May 13, the Ibu volcano on the island of Halmahera erupted, but it did not spew lava, only thick clouds of smoke and ash.
This is the second eruption of this volcano in the last few days - Ibu also exploded on Friday, May 10. The volcano is restless but has not yet erupted with lava, so a state of emergency is maintained around it.
State of Danger
Hendra Gunawan, the director of the Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, stated in a declaration that the volcano's state of emergency remains at the highest level.
The area around the eruption site has been closed off for nearly 5 kilometres. Local authorities warn residents and tourists to wear masks and glasses since the ash will continue to fall to the ground for a long time.
Other Volcanoes Also Active
In recent weeks, there have been two other powerful incidents related to volcanic activity - the Ruang volcano in North Sulawesi erupted, spewing fiery lava. The eruption forced the evacuation of over 12,000 people on a nearby island.
In December, more than 20 people died after the eruption of the Marapi volcano, one of the most active in Sumatra, which sent gray ash clouds up to about 3 kilometres high.
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and many other countries are located in the so-called Ring of Fire or its immediate vicinity, and such phenomena are almost commonplace there. The Ring of Fire is an area of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, consisting of oceanic trenches, island arcs, and active volcanoes, that lies in the Pacific Ocean over about 40,234 kilometres.
