Mount Ruang erupts again: Indonesia shuts down international airport, evacuates people

The remote MountRuangvolcano in Indonesia erupted several times on Tuesday (April 30), stated thevolcanology agency of the country.

The volcanic eruptions forced Indonesia to evacuate people from nearby places andalsoclose Sam Ratulangi International Airport in the provincial capital of Manado,asper a notice issued by state-run air traffic control provider AirNav Indonesia.In the notice, the airport saidthat itwas shutting down because of "Ruangvolcanic ash".

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Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) raised the alert level to the highest after the volcanic eruptionand appealedto the residents to avoid going near the volcano,asper the website.

The island of Ruang,whichislocatedin the province of North Sulawesi, is home to more than 800 residents, a lotof whom were evacuatedafter the volcanic eruptionsearlier this month.

Also Read:WATCH | Indonesia’s Ruang volcano erupts, forces evacuation of 800 to nearby islands

According to the authorities, the threat from the MountRuangvolcano has not died down after its more than half a dozen eruptions this month, which led to the evacuation of more than 6,000 people.

WATCH: Another explosive eruption of #Ruang Volcano in Northern Sulawesi, Indonesia, generated a wide eruption cloud this early morning, 30 April 2024.

This happened just around two weeks after its previous explosive eruption that triggered a mass evacuation of the island. pic.twitter.com/dj0WMnXnSW — ScienceKonek (@sciencekonek) April 29, 2024

Manado's airportwas temporarily closed by the transport authorities earlier this month after falling rocksandash damaged homes andalsoforced an evacuation from a nearby hospital.

Thestatus level was downgraded by the authoritiesto level 3 last week beforeit was again upgraded tolevel 4 on Tuesday (April 30).

Mount Ruang's eruption leads to a tower ofash

The eruption in Mount Ruang, whichis locatedin Indonesia's outermost region of North Sulawesi province, took place at around 01:15 am local time (1715 GMT Monday) and twice more Tuesday morning, said the volcanology agency, in a statement.

It added that the volcano created a tower of ashthat stretched over five kilometres (3.1 miles) in the sky.

A six-kilometre (3.7-mile) exclusion zone was also re-instated by the agencywhichsaid that the locals should be aware of "the potential for ejections of incandescent rocks, hot clouds and tsunamis due to eruption material entering the sea".

Watch:Indonesia battered by volcanic eruptions, at least 800 evacuated after eruption

This month, more than 800 people were living nearRuang and faced evacuation. Some of themcame backto their homes after the end of the emergency response status, reported AFP.

It remained unclear how many residents came back andwere once again forcedto evacuate.

The vast archipelagonation of Indonesia faces frequent seismic and volcanic activity because of its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire".

(With inputs from agencies)