Indonesia to permanently relocate nearly 10,000 people

The Indonesian government will permanently relocate almost 10,000 residents after a series of explosive eruptions of the Ruang volcano raised concerns about the dangers of residing on the island in future, a minister said on May 3.

About 9,800 people live on Ruang island in the province of North Sulawesi, but in recent weeks, all residents have been forced to evacuate after the mountain continued to spew incandescent lava and columns of ash kilometres into the sky.

The authorities this week raised the alert status of the volcano to the highest level, closed the provincial airport in Manado, and warned of a possible tsunami if parts of the mountain collapse into the surrounding waters.