Indonesia’s Ruang volcano erupts again, alert status at highest

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesia’s Ruang volcano off the island of Sulawesi erupted on Tuesday, April 30, spewing ash and lava, after an eruption earlier this month led to hundreds of evacuations and an airport closure.

The country’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) raised the alert level to the highest following the morning eruption, urging residents not to get near the volcano, according to its website.

The island of Ruang in the province of North Sulawesi is home to more than 800 residents, most of whom have been evacuated following the eruption earlier this month. It was not immediately clear how many more were evacuated on Tuesday.

The country’s disaster mitigation agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Footage on social media on Tuesday, which Reuters could not immediately authenticate, showed lava flowing down the volcano, which is about 100 km (62 miles) from the provincial capital Manado.

Transport authorities temporarily closed Manado’s airport after the eruption earlier this month, while falling rocks and ash damaged homes and forced a nearby hospital to evacuate.

Authorities downgraded the status level to level 3 last week before bumping it up again to level 4 on Tuesday.

Indonesia straddles the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire,” an area of high seismic activity where multiple tectonic plates meet. – Rappler.com