Evacuation ordered at Indonesia’s Mt Lokon volcano in North Sulawesi

April 24, 2012 – INDONESIA – Local residents around Mount Lokon in Tomohon, North Sulawesi, have been asked to evacuate the area, following a steady increase of activity in the mountain since 4 p.m. local time. “We are on alert status [Level 3],” said National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho on Monday. “We ask that local disaster mitigation agencies follow the technical recommendations we have given them. There should be no community activity within a 2.5 kilometer radius of the volcano crater,” Sutopo added. Mt. Lokon is located on the outskirts of Tomohon. It is 1,580 meters high and is located 20 kilometers west from Manado, North Sulawesi. According to the Volcanic and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG), Mt Lokon had previously erupted on June 14, 2011, sending ash and debris 1,500 meters into the sky. The next day, another eruption occurred that threw up volcanic material by 600 meters. Two residents died as a result of these eruptions. Other eruptions happened in 1991 and 2001, with the one in October 1991 causing Rp 1 billion (US$108 thousand) in damages, as well as the death of a Swiss tourist named Vivian Clavel. The 2001 eruption covered Manado in ashes and debris. The dust coming out of the mountain formed a 400 meter pillar. –Jakarta Post

Last eruption February 2012