Indonesia is set to permanently relocate residents of an island in North Sulawesi province due to a volcanic eruption that threatens their safety.
Mount Ruang volcano erupted dramatically last month, and since then it has been spewing ash, forcing nearby airports to close and flights to be cancelled. The Tempo newspaper, quoting the Minister of Public Works and Housing, Basuki Hadimuljono, said that the process of transferring the population of Rwang Island, numbering about ten thousand people, is underway to Pulang Mongondo on the island of North Sulawesi, located about 40 kilometers away.
The approval came after a government meeting with President Joko Widodo, according to what was reported by Bloomberg News Agency.
After evacuating Rawang Island, the government intends to turn it into a nature reserve.
The authorities declared a state of emergency until May 14, and warned of the possibility of a tsunami if parts of the volcano collapsed as a result of its eruption.
Indonesia, with a population of more than 270 million, lies on the Ring of Fire – a series of seismic fault lines across the Pacific Ocean – and has more than 100 active volcanoes spread across thousands of islands, including popular tourist destinations.
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