The World Briefly

April 19, 2024

Blast Off

Indonesia

Listen to Today's Edition

Indonesian authorities shut down a provincial airport and evacuated hundreds of people this week following the eruption Wednesday of Mount Ruang in the north of the archipelago, prompting officials to also issue tsunami warnings, the New York Times reported.

The volcanic eruption on a remote island in the province of North Sulawesi saw fiery lava, incandescent rock and ash spewing nearly two miles into the sky.

The country’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency said more than 800 people were evacuated from nearby villages, with officials saying they are widening the evacuation zone after the volcanology agency raised the alert status, Reuters added.

They added that around 1,500 of those in high-risk areas needed to be immediately evacuated, while almost 12,000 more stand to be affected. Authorities have also issued a tsunami warning if parts of the mountain collapse into the ocean below.

Before the eruption, researchers detected more than 300 volcanic earthquakes over a period of at least two weeks, but are still unclear as to why Mount Ruang erupted when it did.

Indonesia, the largest archipelago nation, lies within the volatile Ring of Fire, where tectonic activity triggers earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

The last major eruption in Mount Ruang took place in 2002, which saw a pyroclastic ash cloud reach over 14 miles in altitude.

In recent years, Indonesia has witnessed numerous volcanic eruptions.

In December 2023, an eruption on Mount Marapi claimed the lives of 11 hikers on the island of Sumatra, with an ash column reaching more than 9,000 feet.

In late 2022, more than 1,900 people evacuated following Mount Semeru’s eruption in the province of East Java.

This story originally appeared in the April 19, 2024 newsletter, Kitchen-Table Politics.