Mount Ibu's fiery wrath: Indonesia on high alert amid evacuations
Authorities on the island of Halmahera in Indonesia have declared the highest alert level, leading to the evacuation of several villages, totaling approximately 3,000 people. The stratovolcano Mount Ibu has awakened once again.
Mount Ibu is an active stratovolcano; this year, over 1,000 of its small and large eruptions have been recorded. During the last eruption, ash from the volcano’s crater rose to 5,000 feet. Authorities have declared the highest alert status, which will remain in effect for two weeks, reports polsatnews.pl.
The residents of the nearest villages have been evacuated, although only 700 out of the 3,000 people agreed to leave their homes. Many residents are reluctant to leave their homes and farmland, where the harvest is underway.
Nevertheless, the authorities are determined to persuade residents to leave the danger zone. They fear that in addition to volcanic ash clouds, the volcano may start ejecting rocks, and lava might begin to flow from its crater.
According to the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History Global Volcanism Program, tourists and residents must stay at least three miles away from the active crater and four miles from the vent in its wall.
One of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia
Mount Ibu is just one of Indonesia's 127 volcanoes on the Pacific Ring of Fire, the most volcanically active part of the world. All volcanoes in this area are active, but Mount Ibu is one of the most active among them.
In 2023, aviation warnings were issued due to ash ejection reaching 10,000 feet, making travel in that region difficult. In 2009, an orange volcanic alert was announced, highlighting Mount Ibu’s continuous activity and the constant threat it poses.
