Evacuation of 3,000 Residents near Indonesia’s Mount Ibu Following Eruption
JAKARTA—Authorities have started evacuating 3,000 residents near the Mount Ibu volcano on Indonesia’s eastern island of Halmahera, following an eruption this week that sent a cloud of thick grey ash as high as 2.5 miles into the sky.
Ibu erupted on Wednesday morning for about two minutes, Indonesia’s volcanology agency said, prompting authorities to raise the alert level in the surrounding areas to the highest level.
The evacuations began late on Wednesday for approximately 3,000 residents in the area who were prioritized due to their proximity to the volcano, according to Abdul Muhari, a spokesperson for the country’s disaster mitigation agency, as reported by Reuters.
Earlier, it was stated that 13,000 people were residing near the volcano.
“Judging from the ground situation, it is still relatively stable,” he remarked.
Ibu’s recent activities are part of a series of eruptions from various volcanoes in Indonesia, which is located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and has 127 active volcanoes.
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Ibu experienced a series of eruptions last year. In May, it necessitated the evacuation of residents in seven nearby villages.
