Indonesia’s Mount Ruang volcano erupted at least five times on Wednesday, prompting a high-level alert for more eruptions and a tsunami warning.
Over 11,000 people living near the volcano were ordered to leave as the government struggled to create a four-mile-radius safe zone around the mountain.
Ruang itself is an islet about three miles across at its widest point, separated from the much larger and more heavily populated Tagulandang Island by a narrow strait. The volcano has erupted several times over the past two centuries, most recently in 2002.
Beginning on Tuesday night, the volcano was rocked by a series of increasingly powerful explosions, causing lava to pour out of its crater as the mountain was wreathed in clouds and lighting bolts.
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