Earthquakes Increase Significantly On Mount Mother

Orange light glow appears when an eruption occurs in the crater of Mount Ibu on Halmahera Island, North Maluku, Monday (29/4/2024). (ANTARA/HO-PVMBG)

JAKARTA - The Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources reported that the number of earthquakes increased significantly in the past week on Mount Ibu which is located on Halmahera Island, North Maluku.

"Observations of the earthquake of Mount Ibu show high seismicity. Footage of seismicity is dominated by types of earthquake eruptions, gusts, and volcanic earthquakes," said Head of the Geological Agency Muhammad Wafid as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, April 30.

Based on data from the Geological Agency, the number of earthquakes was recorded 31 times on April 23, 2024, then increased significantly to 449 earthquakes on April 24, 2024, then rose to 783 times on April 26, 2024.

The number of earthquakes had decreased to 486 earthquakes on April 27, 2024, then rose again to 541 earthquakes on April 28, 2024, and increased significantly to 1,215 earthquakes on April 29, 2024.

"With frequent ash rain in settlements around the slopes of Mount Ibu, people who are active outside the home are advised to use a nose, mouth (mask), and eyes (glasses)," said Wafid.

Mount Ibu is a strato-type volcano and has a peak height of 1,340 meters above sea level.

Mount Ibu was visually and instrumentally observed from the volcanic observation post located in Gam Ici Village, Ibu District, West Halmahera Regency, North Maluku.

In the history of volcanic activity, the eruption of Mount Ibu has been recorded since 1911 and since 1998 again experienced an eruption to date with the shortest eruption time of one year. Since 1999 until now Mount Ibu has experienced a continuous eruption.

The latest condition of Mount Ibu is the formation of a lava dome in its crater with significant growth so that it has exceeded the crater wall, resulting in lava avalanches to the north and northwest.

"The level of activity of Mount Ibu is still high, however, there has been no significant change in the threat of danger so that the level of activity is still at level II or alert," said Wafid.

"In the level II activity level, people around Mount Ibu and visitors/tourists should remain vigilant and not enter a radius of 3.5 kilometers from the active crater center," he concluded.