Indonesia’s Mount Ibu erupts, spewing red lava, thick ash and dark clouds into the sky

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s Mount Ibu spewed red lava and thick grey ash clouds that towered 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) into the sky during a two-minute eruption Tuesday morning.

The eruption spewed thick ash toward the volcano’s west and northwest sides, said Muhammad Wafid, chief of Indonesia’s Geology Agency.

A timelapse video distributed by Indonesia’s Geological agency shows red sparks at the top of the volcano followed by a thick column of ash.

The video was recorded from an observation post located next to an evacuation site in a field at Gam Ici village. Several evacuation tents were erected nearby.

Mount Ibu has been continually erupting almost every day since early May. Indonesian authorities raised an eruption alert to the highest level following a series of eruptions, as thousands of deep volcanic earthquakes and visual activities from Mount Ibu have significantly increased.

Authorities urged people to stay at least 7 kilometers (4.4 miles) from the 1,325-meter (4,347-foot) volcano.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, has 120 active volcanoes. It is prone to volcanic activity because it sits along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.

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