Indonesia issues tsunami alert after volcano erupts on remote island

Multiple volcano eruptions at Ruang mountain in Indonesia has prompted authorities in the country to go on its highest-level alert mode as as officials worry that part of the volcano could collapse into the sea and cause a tsunami as in an 1871 eruption there.

The volcano on the northern side of Sulawesi island had at least five large eruptions in the past 24 hours, Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation said.

Indonesia, an island country, of 270 million people, has 120 active volcanoes. It is prone to volcanic activity because it sits along the ‘Ring of Fire,’ a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.

Apart from a tsunami alert a massive rescue operation is underway in Indonesia with advisory to more than 11,000 people to leave the area.

The eruptions at Ruang mountain sent ash thousands of feet high.The volcano on the northern side of Sulawesi island had at least five large eruptions in the past 24 hours, an Associated Press report cited Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation.

Authorities raised their volcano alert to its highest level. While at least 800 residents left the area earlier Wednesday, authorities urged tourists and others to stay at least six kilometres (3.7 miles) from the 725-metre (2,378-foot) (Ruang volcano)

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