Mount Dukono Eruption Vomits Abu As High As 2.7 Kilometers

The volcanic ash column soared out of the crater of Mount Dukono located on Halmahera Island, North Maluku Province, Saturday (24/2/2024). (ANTARA/HO-PVMBG)

The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) reported that there had been an eruption of Mount Dukono, North Maluku (Malut) which spewed volcanic ash about 2.7 kilometers from the center of the crater of the mountain.

Officer of the Mount Dukono Observation Post, Bambang Sugiono, said the eruption that occurred this afternoon at 10.50 WIT resulted in a column of thick ash heading north.

"The amplitude is 27 millimeters and the duration is 94.66 seconds," he said, quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, February 24.

PVMBG urges the public not to do activities, climb, or approach the Maupang Warirang crater of Mount Dukono within a three-kilometer radius.

The public is recommended to always provide masks to avoid the threat of volcanic ash in the respiratory system.

Mount Dukono, which has level II status or is alert, has an altitude of 1,335 meters above sea level. The closest settlement is 11 kilometers from the summit of the volcano.

Mount Dukono is about 14 kilometers southwest of Tobelo City, which is the area with the most densely populated settlements in North Halmahera. The eruption activity of Mount Dukono is commonplace for local residents, given the long history of the volcanic eruption.

The characteristics of the volcanic eruption are explosive and effusive which produces ash, incandescent stone, pyroclastic flow, and lava flow.

Throughout Friday (23/2), Mount Dukono recorded 12 eruption earthquakes, 1 distant tectonic earthquake, and 1 continuous tremor earthquake.

In 2023, PVMBG recorded that Mount Dukono experienced an eruption of 3,324 times.