Ibu volcano alert level at second-highest after strong eruptions, Indonesia

Eruptive activity at Indonesia’s Ibu volcano in North Maluku province intensified over the past couple of days, leading to a strong eruption at around 00:12 UTC on May 13, 2024, with a thick column of ash rising up to 6.4 km (21 000 feet) above sea level.

The ash column was observed to be gray to black in color with thick intensity, drifting west. This eruption follows a similar one on May 10 with the height of ash up to 5.3 km (3 300 feet) a.s.l.

Ibu has erupted more than 80 times since the beginning of this year, but these were the strongest eruptions at the volcano since May 2020 when a short-lived, high-level eruption ejected ash up to 13.7 km (45 000 feet) a.s.l.

The volcano’s Alert Level was raised from II to III (Siaga) — the second-highest — on May 8 after the first signs of increased activity.

Authorities are urging the public to stay away at least 3 km (1.8 miles) from the crater and 5 km (3.1 miles) from the northern part of the crater.

There are more than 13 000 people living within a 5 km (3 miles) radius of the northern side of the crater, said Hendra Gunawan, chief of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG). Local authorities have prepared evacuation tents, but no evacuation order has been reported yet.

Additionally, residents living nearby are advised wear facemasks and glasses when going outdoors to protect against falling volcanic ash.

“The volcanic earthquakes are still intense so there is a potential for a future eruption,” Gunawan said.

There were more than 21 000 eruptions recorded at Ibu last year — or about 58 per day.

The first observed and recorded eruption at Ibu was a small explosion from the summit crater in 1911. Eruptive activity began again in December 1998, producing a lava dome that eventually covered much of the floor of the inner summit crater along with ongoing explosive ash emissions.

The current condition of Mt. Ibu is the formation of a lava dome in the crater with significant growth that has exceeded the crater walls, resulting in lava avalanches to the north and northwest.

References:

¹ Kenaikan Tingkat Aktivitas G. Ibu, Halmahera Barat dari Level II (Waspada) Menjadi Level III (Siaga) Tanggal 8 Mei 2024 Pukul 11.00 WIT – PVMBG – May 8, 2024

² Indonesia’s Mt Ibu erupts, spewing ash clouds – Reuters – May 13, 2024

Teo Blašković

I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.

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