More than 11,000 people have been evacuated in North Indonesia due to the eruption of the Ruang volcano. The first powerful ejections of ash and lava began on April 16. The authorities of the North Sulawesi province decided to evacuate all 838 residents of the Ruang island of the same name to the nearby Tagulandang, which is located about 100 km north of the provincial capital Manado.
However, later, against the background of an increase in the danger level from two to the maximum four points, it was announced about the expansion of the exclusion zone around the crater from 4 to 6 km. In this regard, more than 11 thousand residents were in the risk zone and they are all subject to evacuation.
"At least 11,615 residents in the risk zone must evacuate to a safe place," said Abdul Muhari, head of the data, communication and information center of the country's Emergency Situations Agency.
The authorities are also concerned that the eruption of the volcano, lava flows from which descend from the mountain directly into the sea, could provoke a tsunami, as happened during the previous eruption in 1871.
According to the Indonesian Geological Agency, the first eruption of Ruang raised a column of ash 2 km into the sky, the second - 2.5 km.
The international airport in Manado has been announced closed at least until Thursday evening "due to the spread of volcanic ash, which could threaten flight safety." There are disruptions in the work of Kota Kinabalu airport in neighboring Malaysia, which is located on the northern tip of Malaysian Borneo, just over 1100 km northwest of Ruang.
Indonesia, located along the "Ring of Fire", a horseshoe-shaped series of tectonic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean, has 120 active volcanoes. In 2018, the eruption of the Indonesian volcano Anak Krakatau caused a tsunami along the coast of Sumatra and Java. Hundreds of people fell victim to the elements then.
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