Manado, Indonesia – Indonesia’s Mount Ruang volcano spewed more hot clouds on Wednesday after an eruption the day before forced the closure of schools and airports, pelted villages with volcanic debris and sent hundreds of people to flee. Seven airports, including Sam Ratulangi International Airport in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province, remained closed after Tuesday’s eruption, the second in two weeks. Schools were closed to protect children from volcanic ash.
The volcano is located on small Ruang Island, part of the Sitaro Island chain.
Indonesia’s geological agency urged people to stay at least 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) from the volcano’s crater. It warned people on nearby Tagulandang island, closest to the volcano, of possible overheated volcanic clouds due to a further eruption and a tsunami as the mountain’s volcanic dome collapses in the sea.
Tuesday’s eruption darkened the sky and peppered several villages with ash, debris and rocks. No casualties have been reported. The country’s disaster management agency posted dramatic videos online of dozens of lightning strikes flashing in the cloud of hot gases and debris bubbling out of the volcano’s crater at night.
A video released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed about a hundred villagers being evacuated from Tagulandang Island on a navy ship. Hundreds of others stood at a local port waiting to be evacuated.
Agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said 11,000 to 12,000 people living within the 6.5-kilometer danger zone would be taken to government shelters.
After The eruption of Mount Ruang on April 17Authorities warned that a subsequent eruption could send part of the volcano crashing into the sea.
Ruang is one of about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The archipelago is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, a series of fault lines stretching from the west coast of the Americas through Japan and Southeast Asia.
