Indonesia’s Mount Ibu erupts twice, belches tower of ash
JAKARTA - A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted twice on June 28, sending a hot cloud of ash as high as 7km into the sky.
The country’s Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation shared an image of the thick column of grey ash towering among white clouds around Mount Ibu, located on the island of Halmahera in North Maluku province.
No damage or casualties were immediately reported from the two eruptions, which took place within the span of an hour.
The first occurred at 10.45am local time (9.45am Singapore time).
“The eruption is still ongoing at the time of this report,” the volcanology centre said in a statement.
Locals were urged not to go within 5km of Mount Ibu’s crater, the statement added.
Mount Ibu is currently at the second-highest level of alert after the authorities lowered it last week.
Ibu is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, erupting more than 21,000 times in 2023.
More than 700,000 people lived on Halmahera island as at 2022, according to official figures.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.
In May, Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province erupted more than half a dozen times, forcing thousands of residents of nearby islands to evacuate. AFP