Indonesia: Hundreds evacuated near erupting volcano

Muhammad Ade Fabanyo, an official at the local disaster mitigation agency, said residents of seven villages near Ibu began moving to shelters late on Thursday after authorities raised the alert level for the eruption. As of Tuesday morning, many families were still fleeing. Preliminary data showed that about 400 people had been relocated to safety.

The head of the geological agency, Muhammad Wafid, said the Ibu volcano erupted again on the morning of May 17, sending a column of ash 4,000 meters high. Authorities advised residents and visitors to stay away from the restricted area of ​​​​4 to 7 kilometers around the volcano and wear masks to ensure health.

Ibu is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, erupting more than 21,000 times last year. Authorities raised the alert level for the volcano to the highest in a four-tier alert system on May 16, after recording two major eruptions for the second consecutive day.
The Indonesian archipelago is regularly hit by seismic and volcanic activity due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire.” Last month, Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province erupted multiple times, forcing thousands of residents on neighboring islands to evacuate.