Mount Ibu, a volcano located on Halmahera island in North Maluku province, Indonesia, erupted on Monday, emitting a six-kilometre cloud of ash into the sky. This event marks nearly 100 eruptions since the beginning of the year.
The eruption occurred at 03:30 am local time, sending sand falling onto surrounding areas. Authorities have raised the volcano’s alert level to the highest tier in Indonesia’s four-tiered system.
Muhammad Wafid, head of the Geology Agency, reported that a column of ash, grey in colour and of thick intensity, drifted westward. Rumbling sounds were heard up to the monitoring post. People have been advised to stay away from an exclusion zone of four to seven kilometres from the volcano’s crater.
Mount Ibu previously erupted on a similar scale a few weeks ago, producing a huge ash tower five kilometres into the sky. It is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, with over 21,000 eruptions recorded last year and an average of 58 eruptions per day in 2023.
Indonesia, situated on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province erupted several times last month, prompting the evacuation of thousands of residents from nearby islands. The volcano remains at the highest alert level, and all residents of Ruang island will be permanently relocated.
