On Wednesday, April 17th, local authorities in Indonesia ordered the evacuation of multiple villages near the Mount Ruang volcano. The volcano, located on Ruang Island in the North Sulawesi province, has erupted on at least five separate occasions as of this writing. Authorities completely revoked access to the volcano, warning folks not to wander within 3.5 miles of the peak.
The fear continues to be that part of the mountain will collapse into the ocean. That event alone could trigger a tsunami. This is on top of the tectonic movement that is typically associated with volcanic eruptions. According to local records, this volcano caused a tsunami to form in the year 1871.
Another of the major concerns that authorities have is that the eruptions don’t appear to be ending any time soon. In fact, each eruption has increased in intensity. These eruptions have emitted dark clouds that cause ashes to fall on the different islands within the region. Ruang Island, where the volcano is located, is home to about 800 residents – all of whom have already been relocated to Tagulandang Island. In total, around 11,000 people have already been displaced from their homes. Unfortunately, their troubles haven’t ended yet. People within Tagulandang Island are being warned about falling debris from the eruptions, which could begin to cover the island in the next few hours. There have been casualties reported so far, but this is an ongoing situation.
The volcano’s island is located between mainland Indonesia, the Philippines, and New Guinea. These three countries are keeping a closer eye on the situation, especially due to the lurking tsunami threat. Malaysia Airlines has already canceled over 19 flights due to the eruptions, all of which were to different parts of Indonesia. Currently, the local government of the Philippines has not imposed travel restrictions. The same goes for New Guinea. As mentioned, things can change radically within the coming hours, especially as some of the dark clouds formed by the volcano start to make their way to other areas.
All of this could cause upcoming travel disruptions, particularly in nearby countries. A similar phenomenon took place in the spring of 2010 when the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland erupted. That spring, over 50,000 flights in Europe were canceled, as were multiple outdoor events, all due to the thick clouds that roamed the continent for a long stretch of days.
As far as the tsunami threat is concerned, local authorities in the Philippines have yet to issue an official warning. The country recently canceled a warning that it had released at the beginning of the month due to the earthquake in Taiwan. Indonesia has, on the other hand, issued a tsunami warning. Local authorities are presumably still working to evacuate more people from the region as eruptions continue and multiple threats arise.