Thousands of residents on Thursday rejected an evacuation order issued by authorities in eastern Indonesia, despite the repeated eruptions of Mount Ibu, saying they are used to such a situation.
Only around 500 residents of the village closest to the volcano have been evacuated since Wednesday evening, local authorities said.
Mount Ibu, located on the island of Halmahera in the North Moluccas province, to the east of the vast archipelago, erupted on Wednesday, sending a column of smoke four kilometers high into the sky.
-The Indonesian Geological Agency therefore raised the volcano’s alert level to the highest threshold in its system of four, which led local authorities to call on the 3,000 residents living nearby to evacuate.
“So far, only one village has been evacuated, while residents of the remaining five villages have refused to evacuate,” said Irfan Idrus, spokesperson for the local disaster management agency.
