Indonesia: Ruang Volcano Eruptions Spark Hill Collapse Fear, Highest Alert, Tsunami Warning On | Key Points

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.

Indonesia Volcano | Key Points

• 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 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the 725-meter (2,378-foot) Ruang volcano.

• Officials worry that part of the volcano could collapse into the sea and cause a tsunami as in an 1871 eruption there. A volcano eruption at the Ruang mountain on March 3, 1871, shook the ground on Tagulandang Island generated a tsunami, leading to sea waves that rose up to 25 m in height at the village of Haas, according to researchgate.net.

• Tagulandang island to the volcano's northeast is again at risk, and its residents are among those being told to evacuate. Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency said residents will be relocated to Manado, the nearest city, on Sulawesi island, a journey of six hours by boat.

• In 2018 also, the eruption of Indonesia's Anak Krakatau volcano caused a tsunami along the coasts of Sumatra and Java after parts of the mountain fell into the ocean, killing 430 people.