Indonesian Volcano Agency Issues Warning After Climbers Narrowly Escaped Mount Dukono Eruption

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry's Geological Agency warned against climbing Mount Dukono. The warning came after reports that dozens of climbers narrowly escaped the volcano's eruption.

"The general public is advised not to climb or visit Mount Dukono as volcanic activity is still high at the moment," Priatin Hadi Wijaya, head of the PVMBG, said in a statement on Monday, August 19, 2024.

X user @Heraloebss posted a video showing dozens of climbers scrambling and running to avoid the volcano's eruption. "They rushed to climb down as the mountain in Halmahera Regency erupted," the account wrote on Aug. 17.

Priatin said the volcano is currently at Level II activity status, or alert, for which the PVMBG has issued a ban on entering the area within a 3-kilometer radius of Mount Dukono's crater.

"Currently, Dukono volcano is still erupting intensely, producing an eruption column with an average height of 100 to 1,000 meters," he said.

Priatin said the volcano has erupted thousands of times this month. "From August 1 to 19, 2024, there were 2,387 seismic eruptions," he said. "This indicates that the activity of Mount Dukono is currently still high," he said.

AHMAD FIKRI (CONTRIBUTOR)

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