Monday, May 27, 2024 A volcano on the remote Indonesian island of Halmahera erupted early Monday morning, sending a thick grey ash cloud six kilometers (four miles) into the sky. The country’s volcanology agency has issued a warning for aviation authorities managing local flights due to the eruption. The eruption occurred at 3 a.
m. local time (7 p.m.
GMT), and the agency recommended that a seven-kilometer (4.35-mile) radius around the volcano be cleared for safety. The agency reported that the ash column was moving westward, and footage shared on Monday showed the ash cloud thickening and eventually obscuring the volcano.
In response to the eruption, the agency issued a “red” color code warning to local aviation authorities, the highest warning level, due to ash exceeding six kilometers in height. The alert level for Mountain Ibu was previously raised to the highest on the scale on May 16. The eruption of Mountain Ibu follows a series of volcanic eruptions in Indonesia, a country located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” which is home to 127 active volcanoes.
Since April, authorities have noticed increased volcanic activity, leading to the evacuation of people from seven nearby villages. In addition to Mountain Ibu, other volcanoes in Indonesia have shown increased activity recently. On May 11, flash floods and cold lava flow from Mount Marapi, one of the most active volcanoes in West Sumatra province, covered several nearby districts following torrential rain.
This di.