Emergency services are mobilized this Thursday, April 18 in Indonesia to evacuate several thousand people threatened by an erupting volcano in the north of the archipelago after an alert of a risk of a tsunami if debris from the volcano falls into the sea. Ruang volcano has experienced five eruptions since Tuesday and projected a cloud of ash more than a kilometer high into the sky, forcing the Ministry of Transport to close the Manado international airport located more than a hundred kilometers away.
The crater of the volcano ignited and spewed lava during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, prompting the authorities to raise the alert level to the highest on a scale of 4. The volcano, located on a small island of the northern province of Celebes, in an isolated area of the archipelago, still released a column of smoke this Thursday morning.
Houses on the neighboring island of Tagulandang are riddled with holes from falling volcanic rocks, and residents are preparing to leave, at least temporarily. The roads are in particular “covered with volcanic materials”, described to AFP Ikram Al Ulah, a local rescuer reached by telephone from the seaport of Tagulandang. “Currently, many people are still wandering. Perhaps to evacuate valuable possessions from their home,” he added.
11,000 people evacuated
Authorities announced the evacuation of 11,000 people in the area near the volcano, which includes the island of Tagulandang, where around 20,000 people live. Some residents tried to flee in panic, according to authorities. “Last night, people evacuated by themselves, in disorder, due to the eruption of the volcano and materials, small stones that fell,” Jandry Paendong, an official with the relief agency, said in a statement on Thursday. A team of around twenty people is evacuating residents living along the coast facing the volcano on inflatable boats, he said.
Authorities also evacuated a prison on the island, transporting 17 inmates, as well as 11 staff and 19 residents, by boat to the seaport of Likupang in North Sulawesi, according to Ikram Al Ulah. Locals and tourists have been urged not to go more than six kilometers from the volcano.
More than 800 people had already been moved from Ruang to the neighboring island of Tagulandang after the first eruption on Tuesday evening, before four more eruptions occurred on Wednesday.
Authorities also warned of a possible risk of a tsunami. “Residents of Tagulandang Island, especially those residing near the beach, should be on alert for the risk of flying rocks, fiery clouds and tsunami caused by the collapse of the volcano mass in the sea”, Hendra Gunawan, director of Indonesia’s volcanology agency, said in a statement on Wednesday.
The authorities’ fears have been reinforced by previous disasters. In 2018, the crater of the Anak Krakatoa volcano, located between the islands of Java and Sumatra, partially collapsed during an eruption, triggering a tsunami that killed more than 400 people.
Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the meeting of continental plates causes significant volcanic and seismic activity. The country has nearly 130 active volcanoes.