Mount Lokon Erupts in North Sulawesi

Jakarta Globe, SP/Rully Satriadi, Sep 13, 2014

Photo of erupting Mount Lokon via BeritaSatu.

Jakarta. Mount Lokon erupted on Saturday early morning in North Sulawesi, sending a column of  ash 600 meters into the air and prompting local authorities to set up an exclusion zone around the volcano.

“The eruption must be monitored closely because… the ash fell on the eastern part of the mountain, Mandolang, Tombariri and East Tombariri district in Minahasa, and Manado has also been affected,” local resident Feri Rismawan said on Saturday.

In Malalayang, a subdistrict of the provincial capital of Manado, people wore facemasks to protect themselves from the respiratory effects of the ash.

Minahasa district head, Jantje Sajow, said the government had advised people not to venture outside without a mask. The local disaster management agency followed this up by distributing masks free of charge, while the local government set up a 2.5-kilometer radius around the crater which local people were not allowed to cross.

The 1,580-meter Mount Lokon is one of Indonesia’s more active volcanos. It erupted in 1991, killing a Swiss tourist.