Following explosions at Ruang Mountain that spewed ash hundreds of feet high, Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami alert on Wednesday. Over 11,000 people were given orders by officials to vacate the region.
According to Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation, the volcano on the island of Sulawesi’s northern side has erupted in significant ways at least five times in the last twenty-four hours. The highest degree of volcano alert was issued by the authorities.
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.
Authorities urged tourists and others to stay at least 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the 725-meter (2,378 foot) Ruang volcano.
Officials worry that part of the volcano could collapse into the sea and cause a tsunami as in a 1871 eruption there.
Tagulandang island to the volcano’s northeast is again at risk, and its residents are among those being told to evacuate.
Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency said residents will be relocated to Manado, the nearest city, on Sulawesi island, a journey of six hours by boat.
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