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minister announced on Friday that the Indonesian government is planning to permanently remove nearly 10,000 residents due to concerns about the risks of continuing to live on the island following a string of violent eruptions from the Ruang volcano.
Ruang island, in the North Sulawesi region, is home to about 9,800 people. However, in recent weeks, the mountain has continued to spew ash columns and glowing lava that reach kilometers into the sky, forcing all of the residents to flee.
This week, authorities closed Manado's provincial airport, increased the volcano's alert level to the highest, and issued a warning that a probable tsunami might occur if portions of the mountain crash into the nearby waters.
Following a cabinet meeting on Friday to discuss the volcano, Coordinating Human Development Minister Muhadjir Effendy announced that hundreds of "simple but permanent" dwellings would be erected in the Bolaang Mongondow area to aid in the relocations.
We will construct homes that adhere to disaster-resilience norms under President Joko Widodo's instructions," he stated, noting that the location was roughly 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Ruang island.
According to geologists, Mount Ruang's dramatic eruptions started last month and were caused by a surge in seismic activity, including deep-sea earthquakes.
On Tuesday, the mountain erupted once more, damaging a few houses and prompting locals to flee from Tagulandang island, where they had first sought safety, to Manado, the provincial capital.
A Reuters witness reported that a thick layer of volcanic ash covered the roads and buildings on Tagulandang, and some homes' roofs had collapsed.
Although the volcano did not erupt on Friday, the spreading volcanic ash caused Manado's Sam Ratulangi Airport to remain closed until the evening.
Indonesia is located at the meeting point of many tectonic plates, known as the "Pacific Ring of Fire," an area with intense seismic activity.
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