Mount Ruang volcano erupts in Indonesia again, prompts closure of international airport
Apr 30, 2024
Jakarta [Indonesia], April 30 : Volcano Mount Ruang erupted in Indonesia on Tuesday, seeking authorities to order evacuation for their safety, reported Voice of America (VOA).
Indonesia's geological agency raised the alert level on Sulawesi Island to its highest level, as the eruption blew clouds of ash, lava and rocks as high as two kilometers into the sky.
As the volcano erupted, the authorities ordered to closure of the nearby international airport.
The officials at Sam Ratulangi International Airport, located about 95 kilometers southeast of the volcano in the provincial capital of Manado, shut down operations citing reduced visibility and the dangers volcanic ash poses to plane engines.
Indonesia's geological agency further urged the residents living within a six-kilometer radius of Mount Ruang to evacuate, VOA reported.
Moreover, this marks the second time, Mount Ruang has erupted this month, forcing the Sam Ratulangi airport to close and hundreds of residents to evacuate.
Earlier this month, Indonesia issued a tsunami alert after a volcano erupted on the remote island, leading to the evacuation of more than 11000 people, reported CNN.
Indonesian authorities ordered the villagers to evacuate following multiple eruptions, raising fears it could collapse into the sea and trigger a tsunami.
Mount Ruang is a stratovolcano, which is typically conical and relatively steep-sided due to the formation of viscous, sticky lava that does not flow easily. Stratovolcanoes often produce explosive eruptions due to gas build-up in the magma, according to volcanologists.
Indonesia, a Southeast Asian archipelago of 270 million people, has over 120 active volcanoes, more than anywhere else in the world.
Indonesia is prone to volcanic and seismic activity because of its location along the Pacific Ocean's "Ring of Fire," a series of seismic fault lines stretching about 40,000 kilometers from the western coasts of North and South America through Japan and Southeast Asia, according to VOA.
