Volcano warning: Mount Ibu erupts and thick ash fills sky - locals told not to go within three miles of crater

Mount Ibu, a volcano in Indonesia's North Maluku province, has erupted, spewing thick grey ash and dark clouds 5,000 metres into the sky for five minutes.

Residents have been warned to wear face masks and glasses to protect their mouths, noses and eyes from the ash that is raining down. There have been no reports of damage or casualties so far.

"The volcanic earthquakes are still intense so there is a potential for a future eruption," Hendra Gunawan, chief of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said.

“If it starts to rain ash, we recommend people who are near the volcano to wear a mask and glasses." Officials advised residents and tourists not to conduct any activities within 3 miles of Mount Ibu's crater. More than 13,000 people live within the three mile radius of the northern side of the crater, Gunawan said.

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Mount Ibu spews thick smoke in Gam Ici, North Maluku

The ash cloud could be seen for miles

After a small eruption on Friday, the centre raised the alert level for the volcano from 2 to 3, the second-highest level, which widens the radius of the area which should be vacated. Local authorities have prepared evacuation tents, but no evacuation order has been reported yet.

The 1,325-meter volcano is on the northwest coast of the remote island of Halmahera. Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, has 120 active volcanoes. It is prone to volcanic activity because it sits along the "Ring of Fire," a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.