Indonesia’s Mount Ibu erupts, spewing 4km high ash cloud
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A woman and her child look on at volcanic ash rising into the air as Mount Ibu erupts on Jan 15.
PHOTO: AFP
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JAKARTA – A volcano on Indonesia’s eastern island of Halmahera erupted early on Jan 15, spewing out a 4km-high ash cloud and forcing the authorities to raise the alert level in surrounding areas to the highest, officials said.
Mount Ibu erupted at 7.11am for around two minutes, the country’s volcanology agency said in a statement. Clouds of thick grey ash billowed into the sky leaning towards the west, said Mr Muhammad Wahid, the agency head.
“Residents and tourists should not have any activities within at least 5km from the crater,” he said.
Mount Ibu also erupted on Jan 14, spewing volcanic ash 3km high.
Around 13,000 people are living near the volcano, said the spokesman of Indonesia’s disaster agency, Mr Abdul Muhari. However, there is so far no plan to evacuate residents.
“Today’s eruption has not yet affected the residents directly. But we have deployed personnel just in case evacuation is needed,” he said.
Ibu’s activity follows a series of eruptions of volcanoes in Indonesia, which sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and has 127 active volcanoes. Ibu had a series of eruptions in 2024
