Tsunami Alert Issued as Indonesia Volcano Erupts

Officials fear Ruang volcano could collapse into sea
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 17, 2024 5:50 PM CDT

Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami alert Wednesday after eruptions at Ruang mountain sent ash thousands of feet high. Officials ordered more than 11,000 people to leave the area. The volcano off the northern side of Sulawesi island had at least five large eruptions in the past 24 hours, Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation said. Authorities raised their volcano alert to its highest level, the AP reports. At least 800 residents left the area earlier Wednesday. Authorities urged tourists and others to stay at least 3.7 miles from the 2,378-foot Ruang volcano.

Officials worry that part of the volcano could collapse into the sea and cause a tsunami as in a 1871 eruption there. Tagulandang island to the volcano's northeast is again at risk, and its residents are among those being told to evacuate. In 2018, the eruption of Indonesia's Anak Krakatau volcano caused a tsunami along the coasts of Sumatra and Java after parts of the mountain fell into the ocean, killing 430 people. Hendra Gunawan, the head of Indonesia's volcanology agency, said people should be on alert for "the potential ejection of rocks, hot cloud discharges, and tsunami caused by the collapse of the volcano's body into the sea," the Guardian reports.

(More volcano stories.)

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