Geological Agency Warns of Mount Awu Eruption in Sangihe Islands

TEMPO.CO, Bandung - The Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) raised the activity status of Mount Awu in Sangihe Islands, North Sulawesi, to Level III (Siaga or Standby) on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, from previously Level II (Waspada or Caution) issued on October 31, 2021.

"Given the characteristics of the volcano eruption, the potential threat of danger, the results of seismic monitoring, and anticipation for rising symptoms towards an eruption, the activity level of Mount Awu is raised from Level II (Waspada) to Level III (Siaga)," said the agency head Eko Budi Lelono in a statement, Thursday, May 12.

People are asked to stay outside a 3.5-kilometer radius of the mountain peak. “Residents around Mount Awu are asked to stay calm, not to be provoked by issues regarding the activities of Mount Awu which cannot be accounted for, and follow the directions of the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD),” he underlined.

Mount Awu has an eruption interval of one to 101 years. The last eruption which occurred in June 2004 was a magmatic one producing an eruption column as high as 3,000 meters from the summit.

“The eruption of Mount Awu can be explosive, magmatic, effusive, or phreatic. The last eruption in June 2004 left a lava dome in its crater with a diameter of about 370 meters and a height of about 30 meters,” said Eko.

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AHMAD FIKRI (CONTRIBUTOR)