Volcanoes
Highest alert level: Volcano erupts again in Indonesia
The 725-meter-high Ruang Fire Mountain in the Sangihe archipelago north of Sulawesi island hurled a 2,000-meter-high column of ash, smoke and rock into the sky, the National Geology Agency reported. photo
© Uncredited/BPBD Sitaro/AP/dpa
It shakes and thunders on an Indonesian volcanic island. Mount Ruang spews ash and rock again. Again there are concerns about a possible tsunami.
The one that has been active for weeks Ruang volcano in Indonesia is not calming down. During the night, the 725-meter-high Mountain of Fire in the Sangihe Archipelago north of Sulawesi island hurled a 2,000-meter-high column of ash, smoke and rock into the sky, “accompanied by thunderous sounds and sustained tremors,” the National Geology Agency reported.
The authorities then again issued the highest alert level. Residents within a six-kilometer radius of the crater were asked to immediately seek safety and wear masks. A significant increase in both very deep and shallow volcanic earthquakes has been recorded, the agency wrote.
This indicates magma migration from deep reservoirs to the surface. People in the region should definitely pay attention to possible pyroclastic flows – flows of hot ash, rock and gas – as well as tsunamis, which could be caused by boulders falling into the sea or the collapse of the entire volcanic body.
Volcanoes can trigger tidal waves that are meter high
There have been eruptions on Ruang since mid-April. The volcano spewed clouds of ash and rock up to 3,000 meters high several times. Air traffic in the region was partially suspended. Last week, however, the alert level was initially lowered after the Ruang calmed down somewhat.
Two weeks ago, parts of the volcanic island threatened to collapse into the sea. According to the state Center for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG), eruptions could cause the flanks of a volcano or, in the worst case, the entire mountain to collapse – triggering tsunamis with meter-high tidal waves and devastating consequences.
In 1871, an eruption of Ruang triggered a tsunami with waves up to 25 meters high. Around 400 people died on the neighboring island of Tagulandang, five kilometers away.
The world’s largest island state, Indonesia, lies on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, the most geologically active zone on earth. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur frequently along this belt. There are about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia.