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Mount Lokon spews volcanic ash more than a mile into the air as it erupts in Tomohon, North Sulawesi province, Indonesia March 25. Residents were advised to keep a safe distance after the early morning eruption. Indonesia has about 500 volcanoes, 128 of them classified as active and 65 listed as dangerous. Mount Lokon has been erupting since July 2011, including just a few days ago.
Reuters
Mount Lokon spews volcanic ash during an eruption in Tomohon in Indonesia's North Sulawesi province on December 17, 2012.
800 eruptions in 6 months: Indonesian volcano spews ash, lava
Mount Lokon, which has erupted 800 times since July, spewed hot lava and volcanic ash as high as 10,000 feet on Monday, according to an Indonesian government official. -- Reuters
See more images of volcanic activity in Indonesia on PhotoBlog
Gathering at a volcano in Indonesia to appease the gods, or collect a free meal
Dwi Oblo / Reuters
A villager and his horse wait for worshipers to hire him to travel near the volcanic crater during the annual Kasada festival at Mount Bromo in Indonesia's East Java province August 15, 2011. Villagers and worshipers throw offerings such as livestock and other crops into the volcanic crater of Mount Bromo to give thanks to the Hindu gods for ensuring their safety and prosperity.
Dwi Oblo / Reuters
Villagers stand at the mouth of the volcanic crater during the annual Kasada festival at Mount Bromo in Indonesia, August 15, 2011.
Dwi Oblo / Reuters
A worshiper carries a chicken to be sacrificed during the annual Kasada festival at Mount Bromo in Indonesia, August 15, 2011.
Dwi Oblo / Reuters
A villager holds a net to catch the offerings thrown by worshipers into the volcano, August 15, 2011.
Dwi Oblo / Reuters
Villagers attempt to catch a chicken thrown by worshipers into a volcanic crater at Mount Bromo, August 15, 2011.
Indonesian legend of a princess who hurled her youngest child into a fiery volcano to appease mountain gods who had granted her fertility six centuries ago, still draws the hopeful to it's edge. Today pilgrims flocked to Mount Bromo on East
Java as they have every year, to offer food, live animals and money in return for prosperity and health. The poor arrive early, some carrying fishing nets, to catch the donations.Mount Soputan spews ash and lava in Indonesia
Andreas / AFP - Getty Images
A farmer works in his field as the Mount Soputan volcano spews volcanic ash, in Minahasa on Indonesia's Sulawesi Island on Aug. 14. An Indonesian official raised the alert status to the second-highest level, level III, also named Siaga, after the Soputan volcano spewed ash to a level of 1200 meters.
Andreas / AFP - Getty Images
A picture taken in Minahasa on Indonesia's Sulawesi Island early on Aug. 15, shows the Mount Soputan volcano spewing volcanic ash and lava.
Reading the entire piece from the Jakarta Post feels like looking at a sports page for a volcano league, as there are activity levels and stats mentioned for a number of volcanos scattered throughout Indonesia. I would think the stress for residents in the area must be pretty extreme at times.
The Jakarta Post reports:
...observers recorded that Mt. Soputan had experienced several tremors, noting that the volcano spewed blazing material into the air several times and disgorged a flow of lava about 500-750 meters to the west of the crater.
Read more here.
Arief Sandi / EPA
Mount Lokon erupts as seen from Tomohon, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, July 15. Indonesian authorities raised the alert at the volcano on Sulawesi island to the highest level and urged the evacuation of the danger zone. More than 30,000 people live near the volcano, according to the local government.
Thousands flee erupting volcano in Indonesia
AP says: A volcano erupted Thursday in central Indonesia, spitting lava and smoke thousands of feet into the air and sending panicked residents in the area fleeing, disaster officials said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The first blast at Mount Lokon occurred at 10:46 p.m., forcing the evacuation of 500 residents living along its slopes, said Brian Rulrone, a disaster management agency official.
It was followed by a second eruption just after midnight and a third at 1:10 a.m.
Darwis Sitinjak, another disaster official, told El Shinta radio from the scene that soldiers and police were helping rescuers get people off the mountain. They join 2,000 others who had been evacuated as a precaution on Wednesday.
The 5,740-foot (1,750-meter) mountain in north Sulawesi province is one of about 129 active volcanos in Indonesia.
Its last major eruption in 1991 killed a Swiss hiker and forced thousands of people to flee their homes.
Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images
Residents look through the remains of properties destroyed by the Sidoarjo mud flow on May 28, in the subdistrict of Porong in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia. Australian experts have this month cut the predicted life expectancy of the Lusi mud volcano, which has been continually spewing mud since May 29, 2006, with new predictions lowered to 28 years, compared to earlier suggestions as high as 87 years. The eruption is suspected to be triggered by the drilling activities of Indonesian oil and gas company Lapindo Brantas, though they refute the claims, instead blaming a small quake 2 days earlier. The disaster has so far killed 14 people and displaced 40,000 others, with parent company Bakrie having paid out over $700 million in land acquisitions which it denies are compensation payments. They expect to pay out a further $120 million by the end of 2012.
Sidoarjo mud volcano expected to flow for 28 years in Indonesia
Read more about the Sidoarjo mud flow here.
Indonesia's Mount Bromo continues to erupt
According to the AP, Mount Bromo in Probolinggo, East Java, has seen a rise in volcanic activity in the past few days as consecutive eruptions spew thick grey plumes into the air. The authorities have set Mount Bromo's status at 'standby', not allowing people to get any closer than about a mile. The 2,329-meter peak is a popular tourist destination. The Mount Bromo explosion in 2004 killed two people, and injured five others. Indonesia has about 500 volcanoes, nearly 130 of them active and 68 classified as dangerous. See more photos of the volcano erupting from Dec. 2010.
Trisnadi / AP
In this photo made with a slow shutter speed, Mount Bromo is seen spitting volcanic materials, as seen from Cemara Lawang village, East Java, Indonesia, on Friday, March 11, 2011.
Trisnadi / AP
A villager carries her child as Mount Bromo is seen spewing volcanic materials as it erupts in Cemara Lawang village, East Java, Indonesia, on Friday, March 11, 2011.
Fully Handoko / EPA
Molten magma spews from the top of the mountain during an eruption of Mount Bromo near Ngadisari Village, Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia on March 11, 2011.
Volcano erupts in Indonesia; worshippers climb towards crater to make offerings
Aman Rahman / AFP - Getty Images
Worshippers ascend towards the crater of Mount Bromo in East Java, Indonesia on Jan. 28. The worshippers gave offerings to the god of the mountain as the volcano continued erupting, praying for the safety of local people.
Aman Rahman / AFP - Getty Images
A worshipper descends from the crater of Mount Bromo on Jan. 28.
Aman Rahman / AFP - Getty Images
Worshippers climb down from the crater of Mount Bromo on Jan. 28.
Aman Rahman / AFP - Getty Images
Worshippers descend from the crater of Mount Bromo on Jan. 28.
I've never heard of people walking towards an erupting volcano before.
Altamira / AFP - Getty Images
A village is covered by mud flow from Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta on January 10, 2011.
View of destroyed village months after Mount Merapi eruption
Amazing photo showing the destruction from Indonesia's most active volcano, Mount Merapi in central Java, that has killed more than 350 people in a series of violent eruptions which started in late October. It reminds me of a recent TV program I just saw on the Montserrat Volcano.
Indonesia struggles to recover months after Merapi volcano eruption
Getty Images photographer Ulet Ifansasti took some amazing photos this week at the site where 353 people were killed when the active volcano, Mount Merapi erupted on October 25, 2010. Authorities ordered the evacuation of over 350,000 people in the affected area, though many were reluctant to leave and often returned to their homes as eruptions and pryroclastic flows continued. On December 3, the official alert status was reduced from level four to level three, cautionary level, as the threat of hot ash clouds and projected material remained. See more photos from this devastating eruption.
Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images Contributor
Warjo Utomo (50), cleans up his car that was burnt by the eruption of Mount Merapi on December 17, 2010 in Kali Tengah Lor village, Cangkringan, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images
A view of destroyed house after the eruption Mount Merapi.
Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images
Suprihatin sits with her son in front of their home destroyed by the eruption of Mount Merapi on December 17, 2010 in Kali Tengah Lor village, Cangkringan, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images
A view of Mount Merapi from a destroyed house on December 16, 2010.
Ulet Ifansasti / Getty Images
Bowls and cups covered by ash are seen in a home destroyed by the eruption of Mount Merapi.
Slamet Riyadi / AP
Indonesian rescuer searches for victims of the eruption of Mount Merapi at Glagahharjo in Cangkringan, Indonesia, Friday, Nov. 19. Mount Merapi began unleashing torrents of hot gas, rock and other debris late last month after years of dormancy. The most significant blast came Nov. 5, the deadliest day at the mountain in decades.
Beawiharta / Reuters
Lightning strikes as Mount Merapi volcano erupts, spewing out towering clouds of hot gas and debris, as seen from Ketep village in Magelang, Indonesia, on Nov. 6. Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano erupted with renewed ferocity on Friday, killing another 54 people and blanketing the surrounding area with ash.
Volcanic light show
I never tire of images of volcanic lightning, as they are one of the many reminders of how powerful and mysterious nature can be. Scientists aren't quite sure how volcanic lightning is created, though they suspect it has something to do with ash, ice and rock particles rubbing together and creating electrical charges. Read more about volcanic lightning here.