As many as 20,000 people have been evacuated from the slopes of an Indonesian volcano that hurled dust and dark smoke high into the sky yesterday in a sign it may be about to erupt for the first time in nearly 40 years.
Mount Awu on Sangihe island, some 2,250km northeast of Jakarta, began spewing ash last week and authorities put residents living on the island near the Philippines on the highest level of alert on Monday.
"There is a lot of smoke coming out, and there are indications that it will erupt," said Samuel Dalompha, an official of the Directorate of Vulcanology based on the island, part of North Sulawesi province and site of the 1,320m volcano. "Earthquakes are also happening continuously, although they are still not very strong."
As of mid-morning, 20,000 villagers had been evacuated and the island's airport had been closed. More than 80 percent of residents in dangerous areas had been evacuated, but some men had stayed to guard their villages, officials said.
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