Netizens have shared footage of Mount Ruang's latest mighty eruption on Tuesday, an event that prompted Indonesia to issue its highest-level alert.
Some 12,000 locals living within a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius, including on the islands of Ruang and nearby Tagulandang, have been evacuated amid concerns over dangerous ash surges, pyroclastic flows, landslides and the risk of a tsunami if part of the mountain collapses into the sea.
The 2,400-foot volcano, which lies in North Sulawesi province's Sangihe Islands, became particularly active last month, leading up to a powerful eruption on April 16. Tuesday's eruption ended the relative lull of the past two weeks.
Video uploaded to social media platforms including X (formerly Twitter) showed a massive column of ash, which the Southeast Asian country's vulcanology agency said rose more than 16,000 feet into the air.
Other footage captured the eruption's explosive intensity, with lava raining down as lightning crackles around it, caused by the static electricity generated by colliding ash particles.
The eruption on Tuesday was larger than the previous one and possibly the most powerful since 1871, said Bejo Prabowo, who heads Jakarta-based Infomitigation, a non-profit organization that focuses on disaster mitigation through satellite remote sensing.
"Even solid materials in the form of stones, gravel, and sand can reach [Tagulandang] island on the other side of Ruang Island. This shocked us all," he added.
Prabowo told Newsweek that little data had been gathered from a 2001 eruption due to a lack of resources needed to properly monitor it.
Ash and volcanic rock spewed out by Mount Ruang has damaged crops as well as hundreds of houses and other buildings, according to Indonesia's disaster management agency.
The ash-filled air also created poor flying conditions, leading Sam Ratulangi Airport, in North Sulawesi's capital Manado, to suspend flights until Wednesday.
No casualties have been reported due to Mount Ruang's recent eruptions.
Newsweek reached out to Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation with written request for comment.
Mount Ruang is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The archipelagic country is situated within the Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped swath of the Pacific Ocean basin that experiences frequent earthquakes and eruptions due to tectonic plate movement.
Stratovolcanoes like Mount Ruang are steep-sided, symmetrical cones formed by thick, sticky lava that does not flow easily. This viscous lava creates the conditions for high gas pressure that produces explosive eruptions like the one seen at Washington state's Mount St. Helens in 1980.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Micah McCartney is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers U.S.-China relations, East Asian and Southeast Asian ... Read more
