Thousands of people evacuated in Indonesia as Ruang volcano eruption triggered a tsunami warning

Rescue teams race this Thursday to evacuate thousands of people due to the eruption of a volcano in a remote area of Indonesia which forced authorities to issue a tsunami warning due to the risk of rocks falling into the sea.

The crater of Mount Ruangin the north of Indonesiabegan spewing lava and ash on Tuesday night and the volcanic activity recorded on Wednesday forced authorities to raise the alert level to maximum.

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The volcano remained active this Thursday and Sam Ratulangi International Airport, in the city of Manado, 100 km from the site, had to close “because the spread of volcanic ash “This could jeopardize the safety of the flight,” said Ambar Suryoko, head of the regional airport authority, in a statement.

Smoke and lava from the eruption of Mount Ruang, seen from Sitaro, Indonesia, on April 17, 2024. (EFE/EPA/PVMBG).

Authorities are racing to evacuate 11,000 residents from the area near the volcanoincluding some from the remote island of Tagulandangof around 20,000 inhabitants.

“The road is covered in volcanic matter”Tagulandang port rescuer Ikram Al Ulah told AFP by phone.

Some residents began to leave the area on their own at night in fear of the skin irritation.

“Last night (Wednesday) there were people who evacuated on their own, but without order due to the volcanic eruption and falling rocks,” said Jandry Paendong of the local search and rescue agency in a statement.

Rescue teams try to evacuate residents from the area in boats and they also had to transfer 17 prisoners from the Tagulandang Island prison.

People and members of the National Search and Rescue Agency watch the smoke and ash rising from Mount Ruang. (EFE/EPA/BASARNAS). (SUPPORT BASARNAS/)

Tsunami warning

Authorities have imposed a six-kilometer exclusion around the crater and They warned of the risk of tsunami due to the fall of volcanic material into the sea.

“The community on the island of Tagulandangparticularly those who live close to the beach, should remain alert to the possible expulsion of incandescent rocks (…) It is tsunamis caused by material falling from the volcano into the sea,” said Hendra Gunawan, director of the Volcanology Agency of Indonesia.

In 2018, the crater of the Anak Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia collapsed into the sea during an eruption, triggering a tsunami that killed more than 400 people. and left thousands injured.

He Mount RuangThe stratovolcano located on a small island in the province of North Celebes, an isolated area of ​​the archipelago, It erupted at 9:45 pm (1:45 pm GMT) on Tuesday. and had two other eruptions in the early hours of Wednesday, volcanology and geology agencies reported.

The first eruption formed a two-kilometer column of ash and then the volcano propelled materials that rose up to 2.5 kilometers, Muhamad Wafid, director of the geology agency, said in a statement.

The volcanology agency had warned the day before that the activity of the Mount Ruang increased after two earthquakes recorded in recent weeks.

Indonesiawhich has around 130 active volcanoes, records frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its location on the “Pacific Ring of Fire”.

Source: Elcomercio