Mount Karangetang in North Sulawesi, Indonesia remains on alert level III due to ongoing volcanic activity, warned PVMBG. Residents are urged to follow safety guidelines.

Mount Karangetang in Siau Tagulandang Biaro (Sitaro) Islands District, North Sulawesi Province, remains on alert level III according to the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVMBG). The head of the Karangetang Volcano Observation Post, Yudia Tatipang, has appealed to the residents to comply with the appeal regarding dangerous zones or recommendations issued by PVMBG. During monitoring, light to medium-white, weak-pressure smoke was seen out of the mountain’s main crater, reaching a height of 50 meters (m), while the secondary crater emitted thin to thick white smoke, with a maximum thickness of about 25 m. Furthermore, surveillance cameras (CCTVs) captured the visual of flames that erupted at a height of 10 m from the tops of the main and secondary craters. The Karangetang Volcano Observation Post also recorded seven hybrid volcanic earthquakes with an amplitude of 5-8 millimeters (mm) and a duration of 10–24 seconds, as well as a shallow volcanic quake with an amplitude of 8 mm and a duration of 5 seconds. In addition, the post also recorded one local tectonic earthquake with an amplitude of 35 mm and a duration of 20 seconds and four distant tectonic earthquakes with an amplitude of 8–35 mm and a duration of 44–89 seconds. Tatipang appealed to the community, tourists, and climbers not to carry out any activity in areas within a 2.5-kilometer radius of the main crater and a 3.5-kilometer radius of the peak in the south and southeast sectors of the volcano. Residents near the mountain are also asked to remain calm and not be provoked by false information regarding the volcano’s eruption. The public should always comply with the recommendations from the North Sulawesi Provincial Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) and Sitaro Islands District BPBD. Furthermore, people living along the banks of the river that originates from the mountain’s peak must stay vigilant to the potential lahar flow during the rainy season. The volcano had an effusive eruption on February 8, 2023 after showing increasing volcanic activity.