TERNATE (AFP) – A volcano in eastern Indonesia has erupted at least a thousand times this month, according to an official report yesterday as efforts were underway to evacuate thousands of villagers living near the rumbling mountain.
Mount Ibu, on the remote island of Halmahera in North Maluku province, sent a column of smoke up to four kilometres (km) into the sky in an eruption on Wednesday.
Indonesian officials raised its alert status to the highest level and called for the evacuation of 3,000 people living in six nearby villages.
It was one of 1,079 eruptions by the volcano recorded since January 1 by Indonesia’s Geological Agency, sending columns of ash reaching between 0.3km and 4km above its peak, according to the agency’s data gathered by AFP.
The latest big eruption occurred yesterday at 1.15am local time as it spewed a towering cloud of ash 1.5km into the air.
“The ash was grey, with moderate to thick intensity, drifting southwest. A loud rumbling sound was heard all the way to Mount Ibu Observation Post,” the agency said in a statement. It added that the volcano had erupted 17 times yesterday alone.
Despite deciding to evacuate affected villagers, local authorities had only managed to evacuate 517 residents as of yesterday, pledging to persuade those who remained to stay in safe shelters.
Many have refused to evacuate, arguing that they were used to the situation and were in harvest season.
“There might be economic considerations, as many residents are in the middle of harvesting crops. However, we will continue to educate the community and encourage them to evacuate,” said Ternate district military commander in charge of a safe shelter Adietya Yuni Nurtono.
Mount Ibu, one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, has shown a significant increase in activity since last June.
Residents living near Mount Ibu and tourists have been advised to avoid a five- to six-kilometre exclusion zone around the volcano’s peak and to wear face masks in case of falling ash. As of 2022, around 700,000 people were living on Halmahera island, according to official data. Indonesia, a vast archipelago, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity as it lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire.
Last November, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,703-metre twin-peaked volcano on the tourist island of Flores erupted more than a dozen times in one week, killing nine people in its initial explosion.
Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province erupted more than half a dozen times last year, forcing thousands from nearby islands to evacuate.
