Jakarta: Mount Ibu, a volcano located in eastern Indonesia, erupted on Monday, shooting a massive column of ash more than five kilometers (three miles) into the sky. The eruption occurred after authorities had raised the volcano's alert level to the second-highest last week.

Fortunately, there have been no reports of damage or casualties so far. However, images captured the towering ash column rising above Halmahera island in North Maluku province.
Officials noted that this eruption, reaching over five kilometers above the volcano's peak, is one of the most significant in recent months. Muhammad Wafid, the head of the Geology Agency, described the ash column as grey-black with thick intensity, moving westward.

As a precautionary measure, Wafid advised residents in the vicinity to wear facemasks and glasses when outside to shield themselves from falling volcanic ash.

The volcano had erupted on a smaller scale just two days earlier, emitting lava, ash, and lightning into the night sky. Despite this, the alert level remained at the second-highest tier on Monday, with a designated exclusion zone extending between three to five kilometers (approximately two to three miles) around the volcano's crater.

Mount Ibu is among Indonesia's most active volcanoes, having erupted over 21,000 times last year alone. Sofyan Primulyana, an official from the Geology Agency, disclosed that in 2023, Ibu recorded an average of 58 eruptions per day.

Indonesia, being part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire," frequently experiences seismic and volcanic events. Just last month, Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province erupted multiple times, prompting the evacuation of thousands of residents from nearby islands. Mount Ruang remains at the highest alert level, leading to the decision to permanently relocate all approximately 800 residents of Ruang island.