The eruption of a remote Indonesian volcano has forced the closure of more than half a dozen airports and ash has spread as far as Malaysia, officials said, prompting authorities to evacuate thousands of people due to fears of a tsunami. It is in a hurry.
Mount Luang erupted three times on Tuesday, spewing lava and ash more than five kilometers into the air and forcing authorities to order 12,000 people to evacuate.
Rescue ships and warships are being sent to help move thousands of people from neighboring Taglandan Island to Siau Island in the north after warnings that part of the volcano could fall into the sea and cause a tsunami. Dispatched.
Rosalyn Sarindeho, a 95-year-old resident of Taglandan, in the outermost region of Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province, described her horror when the Luang volcano erupted after arriving in Shau.
“The mountain exploded. Wow, it was bad. It was raining stones. Twice. The second time it was really heavy and it damaged houses further away,” she said.
The country’s meteorological agency BMKG shared a map on Wednesday morning showing volcanic ash reaching as far as Malaysia’s eastern Borneo island, which it shares with Indonesia and Brunei.
The spread of volcanic ash has forced the closure of seven airports, including the largest airports in the provincial capital Manado and Gorontalo city, according to a notice from state-run air traffic control company AirNavi Indonesia.
The crater of Mount Anak Krakatoa, located between Java and Sumatra, also erupted in 2018, sending huge chunks of the volcano sliding into the sea and causing a tsunami that killed more than 400 people and injured thousands. It partially collapsed.
