Increased activity, evacuations at Karangetang in Indonesia

Karangetang in Indonesia erupting during the mid 1990s. Image courtesy of VolcanoWorld.

The alert level at Karangetang, one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, was raised to Orange over the weekend and people living near the volcano have been evacuated. The volcano is apparently already producing ash and lava flows, but it is mostly the ash hazard that is prompting the evacuations. Karangetang erupts almost every year and sometimes with deadly consequences, as in 1992 when 6 settlers near the volcano perished.