Hanoi (VNA) – Mount Ibu, located on remote Halmahera island in eastern Indonesia, erupted on May 20, belching a tower of volcanic ash 5,000 metres above its peak, according to Indonesia's Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG).
The eruption took place at 11:36 am (Indonesia time), lasting for over two minutes and its ask tower was towards to West-Southwest.
Residents living near Ibu and tourists were asked to stay out of a four- to seven-kilometre exclusion zone from the peak and to wear a face mask in case of falling ash.
Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, has 127 active volcanoes. It is prone to volcanic activity because it sits along the “Ring of Fire”, a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.
Ibu is one of Indonesia's most active volcanos, erupting more than 21,000 times in 2023. Indonesian authorities on May 16 raised the alert level for Mount Ibu to the highest (Level 4) following a series of eruptions./.
