Ruang Mount Eruption Has Potential for a Tsunami, Residents Asked to Avoid Coast

Jakarta, MINA – The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) appealed to people on Tagulandang Island, North Sulawesi to avoid coastal areas because they were worried about the potential for a tsunami due to the eruption of Mount Ruang which occurred again from Monday evening to early Tuesday morning.

The Head of the BNPB Disaster Data, Information and Communication Center, Abdul Muhari said that his party also asked residents to vacate Ruang Island until the situation was truly declared safe.

“We appeal to the public not only to vacate the area within a 7 kilometer radius, but also to evacuate the entire community on Ruang Island and Tagulandang Island to avoid the coastal area until we declare conditions truly safe,” said Abdul at a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday, April 30, 2024.

“This is to be wary of a tsunami like what happened in 1871,” he added.

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Abdul said, based on the character of Mount Ruang’s eruption today, a lot of volcanic material has directly entered the sea.

“So we are worried, because we remember that there was a history from 1871 that some of this volcanic material was capable of generating quite a significant tsunami,” he stressed.

He said that we have to be careful about this because the mechanism of tsunamis generated by volcanoes is sometimes different from the mechanisms generated by earthquakes.

“If a tsunami is generated by an earthquake, we can start warnings after the earthquake starts. “Meanwhile, volcanic activity is already occurring and we don’t know whether significant volcanic activity will continue to occur,” he explained.

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“So once again we urge people on Tagulandang Island to stay away from coastal areas to be aware of the potential for a tsunami,” said Abdul.

Mount Ruang erupted again on  Tuesday at 01.15 WITA. As a result of the eruption, the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) has raised the status again from Level III (Alert) to Level IV (WARNING) starting April 30 2024 at 01.30 WITA.

PVMBG also increased the danger radius to seven kilometers after the eruption of Mount Ruang today. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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