Lokon volcano located on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi was active in recent days. After the eruption on April 24, it started spewing ash, prompting experts to recommend an evacuation of nearby residents.
More than 10 months after a major eruptive episode, the Indonesian volcano Lokon made itself an hour event. Located in the northern province of Sulawesi, it is again erupted on April 24 at around 10:20 local time. Smoke and ash were expelled from the crater Tompuloan, causing tremors up to five kilometers of the volcano, reported abc.es. If this first eruption had already put the authorities and experts on alert, the second went off yesterday at around 11:55 local time.
But this eruption was stronger than the last, said Surono, volcanologist who heads the Indonesian Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. Since last Tuesday, the volcano spewed volcanic ash that fell back to 2.5 km around the crater. Following the previous eruption, the authorities had simply advised the public to avoid any activity in this setting, without evacuation order.
However, this time, the experts suggested the government to ask the people living within 2.5 km of Lokon temporarily leave their homes, preventing another eruption. In addition, Surono and his colleagues also recommended to close the airport Sam Ratulangi whose traffic could be disrupted by the ash, The Jakarta Globe reported. Finally, they urged the authorities to work on alternative ways to connect the cities of Manado and Tomohon, where the volcano is located. Indeed, during previous eruptions that town and its people found themselves completely isolated.
This week, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency has sent aid to prevent the city of Tomohon including dozens of tents and provisions. For now, though no victim was reported, it is unclear how many people have already been evacuated.
