Indonesia raises the alert level for the Ibu volcano to the highest level after a series of eruptions

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesian authorities on Thursday raised the alert level for Mount Ibu volcano in North Maluku province to the highest level after a series of eruptions since last week.

The 1,325-meter-high volcano on the northwest coast of the remote island of Halmahera has been spewing thick gray ash and dark clouds up to 5,000 meters into the air every day since last Friday.

“Based on the results of visual and instrumental monitoring showing the occurrence of increased volcanic activity at Mount Ibu, we have increased the alert level from 3 to 4,” said Muhammad Wafid, head of the Indonesian Geological Survey.

Officials advised residents and tourists not to engage in activities within 7 kilometers (4.4 miles) of the crater and to be aware of the possibility of an eruption releasing lava from its summit.

Thousands of people live in this area. Local authorities have prepared evacuation tents, but no official evacuation order has yet been reported.

Deep volcanic earthquakes and visual activity from Mount Ibu have increased significantly.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, has 120 active volcanoes. It is prone to volcanic activity because it lies along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.