More than 11,000 people were asked to evacuate the area around Indonesia’s Mount Ruang volcano after it started erupting Tuesday.
The first eruption of the Mount Ruang volcano in the North Sulawesi Province of Indonesia started Tuesday before at least five more eruptions rolled through Wednesday, according to The Associated Press (AP). As the eruption of white-gray smoke continued throughout Thursday, authorities ordered some 11,000 people to evacuate. Only 800 people have chosen to leave at the time of writing.
Reports online suggest the region has experienced more than 1,000 earthquakes between Tuesday and Wednesday, with more than 4,000 lightning strikes, according to AccuWeather. Authorities also warned a collapse of the volcano could trigger a serious tsunami.
Indonesia’s Ruang Volcano by the numbers:
• 48- Hour Earthquakes: >1,000
• 24-Hour Lightning Strikes: >4,000
• Island Population Evacuated: >800 (100%)
• Last eruption: Sept. 2022https://t.co/Mi1eEM0fRy pic.twitter.com/SeG1qc2n4q— AccuWeather (@accuweather) April 17, 2024
The night sky glowed red and flashed with lightning as Indonesia’s Mount Ruang volcano erupted Wednesday evening, forcing hundreds to evacuate. pic.twitter.com/7bwUhi2Bt7
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) April 17, 2024
Footage shared online shows the seemingly non-stop lightning storm emerging from the ash cloud above the crater, glowing red under a seemingly black sky. “The potential for further eruption is still high, so we need to remain alert,” local agency official Heruningtyas Desi Purnamasari said Thursday, according to Reuters.
Along with the weight of falling ash, reports of falling rocks (volcanic bombs) forced an area hospital to evacuate and transport authorities closed the international airport in Manado.
Authorities in Indonesia issued a tsunami alert after a series of volcanic eruptions on Mount Ruang that forced the evacuation of hundreds of people. pic.twitter.com/aHZYhAE7M5
— DW News (@dwnews) April 18, 2024
Indonesian authorities have issued a tsunami warning and raised the alert for Mount Ruang to the highest level after the volcano near Sulawesi Island erupted multiple times, spewing a column of ash 3,000m into the sky.https://t.co/hVtlTNxHaN pic.twitter.com/Lm1q1PqIQZ
— The Weather Channel India (@weatherindia) April 18, 2024
In 2018 the Anak Krakatau volcano in Indonesia roared into life, killing more than 400 people after part of the volcanic mountain collapsed into the ocean, sending 16-foot waves into a slew of coastal communities. (RELATED: Massive Ancient Cataclysm At Popular Tourist Hub Revealed By Scientists, And More Could Be Heading Our Way)
Indonesia is also home to the second most deadly modern volcanic eruption, at the Krakatoa caldera, according to the Natural History Museum. More than 36,000 people were killed in 1883 after a major eruption that sent so much sulfur dioxide and debris into the air, the moon turned blue for almost a year.