MANADO, Indonesia, April 30, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Indonesia's remote Mount Ruang
volcano erupted several times on Tuesday, authorities said, issuing the
highest level of alert and ordering thousands of people to evacuate due to
the threat of a tsunami from debris sliding into the sea.

The country's volcanology agency had warned the threat from the volcano was
not over after it erupted more than half a dozen times this month, sparking
the evacuation of more than 6,000 people.

Ruang, located in Indonesia's North Sulawesi province, erupted at around
01:15 am local time on Tuesday (1715 GMT Monday) and then twice more that
morning, the volcanology agency said in a statement.

The volcano sent a tower of ash more than five kilometres (3.1 miles) into
the sky, it added, as well as a fiery column of lava.

The national disaster agency BNPB estimated 11,000 to 12,000 people had to be
relocated from near Ruang's crater, spokesman Abdul Muhari told a press
conference.

"Currently local disaster mitigation agency... military and police are
evacuating residents," he said.

Images released by the agency showed a molten red column bursting into the
sky, a large ash cloud spilling from the crater and burning embers near local
houses.

The disaster agency imposed a seven-kilometre exclusion zone around Ruang
after volcanology officials warned locals of "the potential for ejections of
incandescent rocks, hot clouds and tsunamis due to eruption material entering
the sea".

Abdul said a rescue ship and a warship had been dispatched to help move
thousands from neighbouring Tagulandang island north to Siau island because
of the tsunami warning.

"We urge people in Tagulandang island to stay away from coastal areas, to be
on alert for the potential of a tsunami to occur," he said, citing an 1871
wave that killed around 400 people after volcanic debris fell into the sea.

- Relocations -

The tsunami fears were also informed by more recent events.

The crater of Mount Anak Krakatoa, between Java and Sumatra islands, also
partly collapsed in 2018 when a major eruption sent huge chunks of the
volcano sliding into the ocean, triggering a tsunami that killed more than
400 people and injured thousands.

More than 800 people live on Ruang, all of whom were evacuated this month.

Some had returned to their homes after the emergency response ended on
Monday, an AFP journalist said.

It was unclear how many residents had gone back and how many were forced to
evacuate once more.

But Abdul said those who were previously evacuated from Ruang had been to be
taken to provincial capital Manado to await relocation, unable to return to
their homes because of the fear of eruptions.

Ruang's latest eruption prompted authorities to again close Sam Ratulangi
international airport in Manado, more than 100 kilometres away, according to
a notice from state-run air traffic control provider AirNav Indonesia.

The notice said the airport was shutting down due to "Ruang volcanic ash".

Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and
volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire".