Mount Ibu Halmahera Malut Eruption As High As 1.5 Kilometers

PVMBG recorded the eruption activity that came out of the crater of Mount Ibu on Halmahera Island, North Maluku, Thursday (31/8/2023). (ANTARA/HO-PVMBG)

The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) reports that there has been an eruption as high as 1.5 kilometers from the crater of Mount Ibu in North Maluku.

Mount Ibu Monitoring Post officer, Ahmad Basuki, said the eruption occurred at 22:46 WIT. The ejection of gray ash with thick intensity to the north.

"The height of the eruption column was observed to be approximately 1,500 meters above the peak," he said in a statement quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, August 31.

Ahmad said the eruption was recorded through a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 28 millimeters and a duration of 88 seconds.

Residents and visitors around Mount Ibu are advised not to carry out activities in areas within a radius of 2 kilometers from the summit and sectoral expansion areas as far as 3.5 kilometers to the crater opening in the northern part of the active crater of the volcano.

If the activity of Mount Ibu causes ash rain, the people around the mountain are asked to use a nose and mouth covering and glasses when doing activities outside the house.

Mount Ibu has been on Alert status (Level II) since December 10, 2013 until now. PVMBG noted that the volcano in northwest Halmahera Island has experienced 26 eruptions since January 1, 2023.

Mount Ibu is a volcano-type volcano that has a height of 2,825 meters above sea level located northwest of Halmahera Island, North Maluku.

The top of the mountain is a volcanic crater. The crater center is one kilometer wide and 400 meters deep, while the outer part is 1.2 kilometers wide.