Ternate, North Maluku (ANTARA) - Mount Ibu spewed incandescent lava and flames reaching a height of 100 meters from the summit on Thursday night, the Mt. Ibu Volcano Observation Post in West Halmahera district, North Maluku, reported.
"Mount Ibu ejected an ash column that was observed to be 700 meters high, which was accompanied by incandescent lava and flame ray approximately 100 meters high," Axl Roeroe, an officer posted with the observation post, informed in a written statement received by ANTARA.
The ash column was observed to be gray and thick and moving northwest.
The eruption of Mount Ibu was recorded on a seismogram to have a maximum amplitude of 17 millimeters and a duration of around 50 seconds.
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Roeroe said that currently, the status of Mt. Ibu, which stands 1,325 meters above sea level, is still set at alert level III.
He asked the community living around Mount Ibu as well as visitors and tourists to not carry out activities within a radius of four to five kilometers from the volcano's active crater.
"And, in case of ash rain, people who usually do activities outside the home are advised to wear masks and (protective) glasses, so that they can avoid exposure to the ash," he said.
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In addition, he urged people to not spread false information and not to be provoked by news from unverified sources. Instead, he asked the community to follow the directions of the local government.
He said that the West Halmahera district government can coordinate with the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) and the Mt. Ibu Observation Post in Gam Ici village to obtain information about the volcano's activities.