Thousands evacuated as Indonesia's Ruang volcano erupts, causes tsunami threat - CNA

Tourists and residents were warned to remain outside a 6km exclusion zone.

More than 800 people were initially taken to safety from Ruang to nearby Tagulandang island after the first eruption on Tuesday evening before four more eruptions on Wednesday.

TSUNAMI WARNING

Authorities also warned of a possible tsunami as a result of the eruptions.

"The communities in Tagulandang island, particularly those residing near the beach, (need) to be on alert for the potential ejection of incandescent rocks, hot clouds discharges and tsunami caused by the collapse of the volcano's body into the sea," Hendra Gunawan, head of Indonesia's volcanology agency, said in a statement Wednesday.

The authorities' fears were compounded by previous experience.

In 2018, the crater of Mount Anak Krakatoa between Java and Sumatra islands partly collapsed 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.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc where tectonic plates collide that stretches from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

The impact of Mount Ruang's eruption led to the closure of Sam Ratulangi International Airport in Manado city, located more than 100km from the volcano, for 24 hours until Thursday evening.

The airport runways were shut "due to the spread of volcanic ash which could endanger flight safety," Ambar Suryoko, head of the Manado region airport authority office, said in a statement.

The airport hosts airlines that fly to Singapore and cities in South Korea and China.

"All flights ... impacted because the airport is affected by the eruption of Mount Ruang, volcanic ash," Dimas, 29-year-old airport officer in Manado told AFP by phone.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMidmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vYXNpYS90aG91c2FuZHMtZXZhY3VhdGVkLWluZG9uZXNpYXMtcnVhbmctdm9sY2Fuby1lcnVwdHMtY2F1c2VzLXRzdW5hbWktdGhyZWF0LTQyNzQ0MTHSAQA?oc=5

2024-04-18 04:35:00Z
CBMidmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vYXNpYS90aG91c2FuZHMtZXZhY3VhdGVkLWluZG9uZXNpYXMtcnVhbmctdm9sY2Fuby1lcnVwdHMtY2F1c2VzLXRzdW5hbWktdGhyZWF0LTQyNzQ0MTHSAQA