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Indonesia’s Mount Ibu volcano erupts twice, spewing red-hot lava

Indonesia’s Mount Ibu volcano has erupted twice in the same day, firing bright red lava and rocks into the night sky and triggering a spectacular display of volcanic lightning.

The 1,325 metre volcano on the eastern island of Halmahera erupted twice on Thursday, said Heruningtyas Desi Purnamasari, an official at the country’s volcanology agency PVMBG.

The first eruption was at 1:30am local time, spewing incandescent lava and rocks as lightning flashes lit up its crater, PVMBG footage showed.

The second eruption was at 7:46am for two minutes, shooting volcanic ash as high as 1,200m.

Clouds of grey ash billowed into the sky from the crater, images from PVMBG showed.

Lightning appears amid a storm as Mount Ibu spews volcanic material during an eruption, as seen from Gam Ici in West Halmahera, North Maluku province, Indonesia.(Reuters)

“The alert status of the volcano is still level four — or the highest,” Mr Heruningtyas said.

The agency banned any activities within 7km of the crater.

Thursday’s volcanic activity was the latest in a series of eruptions since May.

Ibu volcano also erupted on Tuesday, spewing columns of grey ash into the sky.

Authorities have evacuated seven villages nearby since May 16 but no new evacuation was planned after the latest eruption.

Indonesia sits on the geologically active Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ and has 127 active volcanoes.

Last month, the eruption of Ruang volcano in North Sulawesi province forced the evacuation of more than 12,000 people.

At least 60 people were killed last month during flash floods and cold lava flows from Mount Marapi, one of the most active volcanoes in West Sumatra province

For more information please visit: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-06/indonesia-ibu-
volcano-erupts-twice-spewing-red-hot-lava/103947236