Jakarta (ANTARA) – Three active Indonesian volcanoes—Mount Ibu, Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, and Mount Semeru—erupted in rapid succession on Tuesday night, sending ash plumes across multiple provinces and keeping emergency authorities on high alert.
The Geological Agency under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) reported that Mount Ibu in West Halmahera, North Maluku, suffered three consecutive eruptions within hours.
The first eruption at Mount Ibu occurred at 8:36 p.m. local time (WIT), spewing an ash column 700 meters above its summit.
A second blast followed at 8:58 p.m., reaching 500 meters, before a third eruption at 11:11 p.m. hurled grey-and-white volcanic ash 600 meters eastward. Mount Ibu remains under Alert Level II.
Shortly before Ibu’s final blast, Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, erupted at 9:09 p.m. WITA.
The volcano ejected a dense grey ash cloud 300 meters high toward the west and northwest.
Seismic monitoring registered a maximum amplitude of 11 millimeters lasting 109 seconds. The volcano is currently at Alert Level III.
Almost simultaneously, Mount Semeru in East Java erupted at 8:33 p.m. WIB.
Although thick fog obscured visual monitoring of the plume, seismographs recorded an eruption tremor with a maximum amplitude of 22 millimeters lasting 235 seconds.
Mount Semeru also remains at Alert Level III.
Authorities have established a strict exclusion zone, prohibiting all activity along the Besuk Kobokan river corridor within 13 kilometers of the summit.
Residents were further warned to stay 500 meters clear of riverbanks up to 17 kilometers downstream due to the danger of pyroclastic flows and cold lava mudslides, while maintaining a 5-kilometer safety radius from the crater to avoid incandescent rockfall.
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Translator: M. Riezko Bima Elko Prasetyo, Aditya Eko Sigit Wic
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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