Indonesia Volcano Eruption: Thousands Told to Evacuate Amid Tsunami Alert | VIDEO

Jakarta: Amid large volcanic eruptions at Ruang Mountain, the Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami alert Wednesday and urged over 11,000 people to evacuate the area.

Officials said that some 800 people have already left the area.

Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation said that in the last 24 hours, the northern side of Sulawesi Island has had at least five large eruptions, prompting the officials to raise their volcano alert to its highest level.

Officials have urged tourists and others to stay at least 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the 725-meter (2,378-foot) Ruang volcano.

Authorities worry that part of the volcano could collapse into the sea and cause a tsunami similar to the 1871 eruption there.

Furthermore, AP reported that Tagulandang Island to the volcano's northeast is again at risk, and its residents are among those being told to evacuate.

Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency told the media that the evacuated residents will be relocated to Manado, the nearest city, on Sulawesi Island, a journey of six hours by boat.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, has 120 active volcanoes. It is prone to volcanic activity because it sits along the “Ring of Fire." The island country in 2018 witnessed the the eruption of Indonesia's Anak Krakatau volcano which caused a tsunami killing 430 people.

(Inputs from AP)