The Ibu volcano on Halmahera Island in the eastern Indonesian province of North Maluku erupted on Monday at around 9 a.m. local time for about five minutes, throwing ash up to 5,000 meters above its peak, Xinhua reports citing the country's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG).
"The ash column from its eruption was observed to be gray to black with thick intensity towards the west. When this report was written, the eruption was still ongoing," said PVMBG.
Standing as high as around 1,300 meters above sea level, the Ibu volcano is classified as the third danger level, below the highest level of IV.
The volcano has erupted more than 80 times since the beginning of this year, PVMBG said, calling on the public not to have activities within a radius of five kilometers from the crater.
Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia is one of the countries with the most volcanoes in the world.
