Australia is on tsunami alert after the Indonesian stratovolcano Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province spectacularly erupted five times in 24 hours.
The eruptions have forced the evacuation of 11,000 people and the closure of Sam Ratulangi International Airport in the provincial capital of Manado.
Burning lava and columns of ash were thrown thousands of meters into the air.
Mount Ruang is a 725-meter-high volcano on the remote island of Ruang, 1,640 kilometers from Bali, the tourist hotspot of Indonesia.
According to Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation, Mount Ruang first erupted at 9:45 p.m. local time on Tuesday and then four times throughout Wednesday.
It was feared that Mount Ruang could cause a tsunami by collapsing into the sea. The region of North Sulawesi province is now in a state of high alert.
Australia is on tsunami alert after the Indonesian stratovolcano Mount Ruang (pictured) in North Sulawesi province spectacularly erupted five times in 24 hours.
“In light of increasing volcanic activity observed visually and instrumentally, the alert level for Mount Ruang has been raised from level 3 to level 4,” Hendra Gunawan, director of Indonesia’s volcanology agency, said late Wednesday.
“The strength of the Mount Ruang eruption is increasing and has emitted hot clouds of approximately 1.7 kilometers,” Gunawan told national news agency Antara.
Gunanwan added that the eruptions were triggered by recent earthquakes in the area.
About 800 people live on Ruang Island and have been relocated to neighboring Tagulandang Island, which is more than a hundred kilometers north of Manado.
No victims have been reported.
Mount Ruang is known as a stratovolcano, which has steep and conical sides due to the formation of viscous and sticky lava.
According to volcanologists, they often produce explosive eruptions due to the accumulation of gas in magma.
Indonesia has more than 120 active volcanoes, more than any other place in the world. It is located along a 40,000 kilometer arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean.
More to follow