May 3, 2024
JAKARTA – Authorities are evacuating thousands more residents living near Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi after it erupted for a second time in a month, with officials planning to permanently empty out two villages at the foot of the volcano.
Mount Ruang, located in the middle of Ruang Island off the coast of Sulawesi, erupted on Tuesday, spewing volcanic ash up to 2,000 meters in the air.
The first eruption of the 725-meter-high volcano was recorded on April 17, following weeks of heightened volcanic activity and multiple earthquakes.
After the first eruption, authorities downgraded the alert level to tier 3 last week before bumping it back to level 4 on Tuesday, the highest alert level in the national system.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has set up a 7 kilometer exclusion zone extending from the crater of the volcano after the most recent eruption. It contains parts of the nearby Tagulandang Island.
Tagulandang Island has been without power since the last eruption, and several houses on the island have been damaged by falling volcanic debris.
As of Thursday, the disaster agency had not received any reports of deaths or injuries related to the eruption.
BNPB head Lt. Gen. Suharyanto flew to North Sulawesi’s capital of Manado to discuss mitigation and evacuation efforts with North Sulawesi Governor Olly Dondokambey on Thursday.
Suharyanto said authorities had evacuated more than 3,300 residents from Tagulandang Island, which had been hit by volcanic projectiles and ash since Tuesday’s eruption.
“There are some 9,000 residents living in Tagulandang Island. We are deploying 11 ships and a helicopter to evacuate the remaining 5,700 residents in the next three days,” he said at a press conference after the meeting.
Suharyanto said authorities had prepared seven temporary shelters in Siau Island, which is located some 52 km from the volcano, and are setting up emergency medical facilities and soup kitchens for the evacuees.
The agency has also set up four more shelters in mainland North Sulawesi – in the cities of Bitung and Manado – to accommodate the evacuating residents.
Six airports in North Sulawesi were closed down after the last eruption, including Sam Ratulangi International Airport in Manado, which is located some 100 km from the volcano.
Authorities also stopped operations at Djalaluddin Airport in the neighboring Gorontalo province, but flights resumed on Thursday morning.
North Sulawesi Governor Olly said authorities were now planning to permanently relocate all residents from Ruang island, arguing that “living that close to the active volcano is too dangerous”.
“Our provincial administration has discussed this with officials at the Office of the Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister and the State Secretariat. We all agreed that it’s best to empty out Ruang island,” Olly told the press briefing.
Ruang island is home to around 800 people living in two villages at the foot of the volcano: Pumpente and Laingpatehi.
Authorities had evacuated all 800 villagers after the first eruption last month, and they have not returned to their homes since.
Olly said the residents would likely be relocated to Likupang in North Minahasa regency and an area in South Bolaang Mongondow regency.
He said both regions were relatively safe from the impacts of the Ruang eruption.