(Jakarta) The Ibu volcano in eastern Indonesia, which has been very active since the beginning of the year, experienced two new eruptions on Friday, throwing a column of ash 7 km above the summit, according to the authorities.
No damage or casualties were immediately reported from the two eruptions, which occurred within an hour. The first occurred at 10:45 a.m. local time (9:45 p.m. Eastern Time).
The National Center for Volcanology and Geological Risk Management released an image of the thick column of gray ash dominating the white clouds around the volcano, located on the island of Halmahera in the North Moluccas province.
The population has been urged not to enter a 5-kilometre exclusion zone around the crater, the Volcanology Centre said in a statement.
Having erupted a hundred times since the start of the year, the volcano was downgraded last week to 2e alert level on a scale of four.
Mount Ibu is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, with more than 21,000 eruptions recorded last year.
According to official figures from 2022, more than 700,000 people live on Halmahera Island.
A vast archipelago, Indonesia experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the “Pacific Ring of Fire.”
In April, the Ruang volcano in northern Sulawesi province erupted more than half a dozen times, forcing thousands of residents on neighboring islands to evacuate.