A volcano in eastern Indonesia has erupted at least a thousand times this month, according to an official report on Sunday, as efforts are under way to evacuate thousands of villagers.
Mount Ibu, on the remote island of Halmahera, sent a column of smoke up to 4 km into the sky in an eruption on January 15.
Indonesian officials called for the evacuation of 3,000 people living in six nearby villages.
It was one of 1,079 eruptions by the volcano recorded since January 1 by Indonesia’s Geological Agency, sending columns of ash reaching between 0.3 km and 4 km above its peak, according to the agency’s data.
The latest big eruption occurred on Sunday at 1:15 a.m. local time. “The ash was grey, with moderate to thick intensity, drifting southwest. A loud rumbling sound was heard all the way to Mount Ibu Observation Post,” the agency said.
It added that the volcano had erupted 17 times on Sunday alone.
The local authorities had only managed to evacuate 517 residents as of Sunday, pledging to persuade those who remained to stay in safe shelters. Many have refused to evacuate, arguing that they were used to the situation and were in the harvest season.
“There might be economic considerations, as many residents are in the middle of harvesting crops. However, we will continue to educate the community and encourage them to evacuate,” said Adietya Yuni Nurtono, Ternate district military commander in charge of a safe shelter.
Published – January 20, 2025 09:19 am IST
