Over 2,100 people forced to evacuate after massive volcanic eruption
Thousands of people have fled their homes after a volcano erupted in Indonesia.
More than 2,100 people were evacuated on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia after Mount Ruang began erupting on Wednesday.
Dangerous ash, falling rocks, hot volcanic clouds and the possibility of a tsunami is causing a risk for those living near the active volcano, AP reports.
Officials fear that part of the volcano could collapse into the sea and trigger a tsunami which happened after one eruption in 1871.
Tagulandang island could be at risk if a collapse happened. Its residents were relocated to Manado six hours away by boat, Indonesia’s Disaster Mitigation Agency said.
Villagers in the areas surrounding the volcano were taken to safety by boat.
Grey ash covered houses, roads and buildings while roofs were broken by volcanic debris.
A map shows the location of Mount Ruang on the Sangihe Islands in North Sulawesi.
Indonesia’s Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation recorded at least three eruptions since Friday afternoon, with the maximum height of the eruption column reaching 1,200 metres (3,937 feet).
White smoke was rising from the main crater with medium to thick intensity, the agency warned on Friday.
More than 11,000 people were told to leave their homes in the affected area as ash began to spread to towards Manado and North Minahasa, according to Indonesian Transportation Ministry.
People were ordered to stay at least 3.7 miles from the 2,370 ft tall mountain.
Experts monitoring the volcano saw at least five large eruptions on Wednesday, causing the hazard centre to issue its highest level III alert.
An international airport in Manado city less than 60 miles from the volcano has temporarily closed due to volcanic ash.
Ambar Suryoko, head of the regional airport authority, said: ‘We are still monitoring developments in the eruption of Mount Ruang and co-ordinating with relevant stakeholders…to anticipate the necessary actions to ensure flight safety, security and comfort.’
Indonesia has 120 active volcanoes across its string of islands which are a home to 270 million people.
The country sits on top of the ‘Ring of Fire’ – a series of seismic fault lines across the Pacific Ocean.
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