Mount Ibu Erupts in Eastern Indonesia, Sending Ash Cloud Six Kilometers High

Jakarta, Indonesia—A volcano in eastern Indonesia, Mount Ibu, spewed a six-kilometre cloud of ash into the sky on Monday, marking the latest in nearly 100 eruptions this year. The eruption occurred at 03:30 am local time (1830 GMT Sunday) on Halmahera island in North Maluku province, with authorities reporting sand falling onto the surrounding areas.

Mount Ibu, which has erupted at least 95 times since early this year, is currently on the highest alert level of Indonesia’s four-tiered system, a status it attained earlier this month. The Geology Agency head, Muhammad Wafid, described the ash column as grey and thick, drifting westward. Rumbling sounds were heard up to the monitoring post.

Authorities have established an exclusion zone of between four and seven kilometres (2.5-4.3 miles) from the volcano’s crater and have urged people not to enter this area.

This latest eruption follows a similar event a few weeks ago when the volcano emitted an ash tower five kilometres into the sky. Mount Ibu is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, having erupted more than 21,000 times last year. In 2023, it recorded an average of 58 eruptions per day.

Indonesia, an archipelago nation, frequently experiences seismic and volcanic activity due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”. Last month, Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province erupted more than half a dozen times, forcing thousands of residents from nearby islands to evacuate. It also remains at the highest alert level, and all 800 residents of Ruang Island are being permanently relocated.