Indonesia issues tsunami alert as volcano erupts in northern region

Jakarta [Indonesia], April 18 (ANI): Indonesia has issued tsunami alert after volcano erupted on the remote island, leading to evacuation of more than 11000 people, reported CNN.

Mount Ruang, a 725-meter (2,400-foot) volcano on Ruang Island, North Sulawesi, has erupted at least five times since Tuesday night, gushing fiery lava and ash plumes thousands of feet into the sky, the country’s volcanology agency said.

Indonesian authorities ordered the villagers to evacuate following multiple eruptions, raising fears it could collapse into the sea and trigger a tsunami.

Agency chief Hendra Gunawan said tha the officials had raised the volcano alert to the highest level, warning people not to go within 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) of the peak, due to fears Mount Ruang could partially collapse into the water and cause a tsunami, as it did in 1871, CNN reported.

“The force of Mount Ruang’s eruption is getting bigger and has emitted hot clouds of approximately 1.7 kilometers,” he said, adding that the eruptions were triggered by recent earthquakes in the area.

Mount Ruang is a stratovolcano, which are typically conical and relatively steep-sided due to the formation of viscous, sticky lava that does not flow easily. Stratovolcanoes often produces explosive eruptions due to gas build-up in the magma, according to volcanologists.

Reportedly, the dramatic footage of the eruptions spread on social media on Wednesday, showing plumes of gray ash billowing into the sky and streams of glowing lava, accompanied by lightning strikes.

Ruang Island is home to about 800 residents, who have temporarily relocated to neighboring Tagulandang Island, according to the authorities.

Moreover, it has been advised that the people on Tagulandang should watch for falling incandescent rocks and hot cloud surges, officials warned.

However, no casualties have been reported so far, reported CNN.

Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of 270 million people, has over 120 active volcanoes, more than anywhere else in the world.

Further, it sits along the Ring of Fire, a 25,000-mile (40,000-kilometer) arc of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.

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.