This Volcano In Indonesia Erupted Over 1,000 Times In This Month Alone
In eastern Indonesia, a volcano has erupted at least 1,000 times this month. Thousands of villagers living near the active volcano were ordered to evacuate.
Mount Ibu is located on the remote island of Halmahera in North Maluku province. It recently unleashed a plume of smoke up to 2.5 miles into the sky during an eruption.
Indonesian officials elevated its alert status to the highest level and gave the command for the evacuation of 3,000 people from six surrounding villages.
Since the first of January, Indonesia’s Geological Agency has recorded a total of 1,079 eruptions by the volcano. The latest eruption took place on Sunday, January 19, at 1:15 a.m. local time.
“The ash was gray, with moderate to thick intensity, drifting southwest. A loud rumbling sound was heard all the way to Mount Ibu Observation Post,” the agency said in a statement.
The volcano erupted 17 times on Sunday. Although the decision was made to evacuate affected villagers, only 517 residents were successfully evacuated as of Sunday.
Many people have refused to evacuate despite the danger, claiming that they were used to volcanic eruptions and that harvest season was currently underway.
“There might be economic considerations, as many residents are in the middle of harvesting crops. However, we will continue to educate the community and encourage them to evacuate,” Adietya Yuni Nurtono, a district military commander in charge of a safe shelter, said.
Mount Ibu is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia. Since last June, there has been a significant increase in activity.
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The current eruption period of Ibu began in 1998 and is still ongoing, with emissions varying from intermittent to daily throughout the years, per the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program.
Residents and tourists near Mount Ibu have been warned to stay away from a three- to four-mile exclusion zone around the mountain’s peak and to wear face masks to prevent themselves from breathing in ash that might rain down.
According to official data, around 700,000 people were living on Halmahera Island as of 2022. Indonesia lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a tectonic belt of volcanoes and earthquakes that surrounds most of the Pacific Ocean.
It contains between 750 and 915 active or dormant volcanoes, consisting of about two-thirds of the world’s total.
As a result, Indonesia experiences regular seismic and volcanic activity. In recent years, several deadly eruptions have occurred in the country.
On the tourist island of Flores, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 5,587-foot twin-peaked volcano, erupted more than a dozen times in one week last November. During its initial explosion, nine people were killed.
In North Sulawesi province, Mount Ruang erupted more than half a dozen times last year. Thousands of people from nearby islands were forced to evacuate.
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