On April 17, 2024, an eruption of Mount Ruang began in North Sulawesi. On Tuesday, April 16, 2024, the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation noted that the status of Mount Ruang had been raised to Level II alert, and then to Level III-IV alert.
The mountain is located 1,659 km away from Bali, so all guests and residents of the island can relax and not worry. There are no seismic tremors felt here. Two flights to Japan (via Manado) and China (Shanghai) were canceled due to the flight path passing through the eruption zone. Flights from Bali to Manado were also suspended. However, the airport operates normally for other destinations.
From April 1 to April 17, 2024, there were 1439 deep volcanic earthquakes and 569 minor volcanic earthquakes on the island of Tagulandang. The height of the eruption column increases with ash and hot rocks, reaching a distance of about 3 km. The number of cases of deep volcanic earthquakes accompanied by continuous tremors with high amplitude is still increasing, indicating that the process of rock cracking continues.
The loud noise caused panic among residents, and they immediately rushed to the streets to seek shelter in safer places. Several people sustained minor injuries, and some houses were destroyed. Hundreds of residents of the village of Laingpatehi on Mount Ruang island were evacuated to the administration building of the neighboring Tagulandang district.
The National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) in Jakarta has announced that around 11,614 residents need to temporarily evacuate to a safe place. For this purpose, four civilian ships and one military ship have been prepared.
The eruption resulted in damage to the geological station, power outages, and the equipment at the summit of Mount Ruang failed to function and display volcanic activity, so it will no longer be able to record. The Geological Agency is installing a new station to monitor the situation. Currently, the possibility of eruption is still possible as volcanic activity itself is unstable.
There is a possibility of a tsunami caused by ash eruptions, hot clouds, and avalanches falling into the sea. Even in the event of a giant wave, it will not affect Bali - there is not only a large distance between the islands but also the barrier of the Sulawesi island.
The spread of volcanic ash has been detected in the west, northwest, east, and southeast directions from Sulawesi. Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado was temporarily closed. The eruption of Ruang in 1871 caused a tsunami with a height of 25 meters and claimed the lives of about 400 people.
Sources: news.detik.com, denpasar.kompas.com
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