Assistance Team Deployed for Mount Ibu Eruption Relief

January 16, 2025

Jakarta – The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) swiftly mobilized a team to provide crucial emergency response and prepare for the potential impacts of the eruption of Mount Ibu in West Halmahera, North Maluku.

Urgent Deployment

Head of the BNPB’s Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center, Abdul Muhari, announced at a press conference on Wednesday that the team would depart from Jakarta for West Halmahera that very night. This rapid response aims to support the West Halmahera district government in executing emergency measures and planning for the aftermath of the Mount Ibu eruption.

Comprehensive Responsibilities

The team’s duties encompass a range of essential tasks, including setting up evacuation facilities and arranging transportation, identifying vulnerable and safe zones for the local community, and ensuring the functionality of early warning systems to address potential cold lava floods in nearby rivers, Muhari elaborated. He emphasized that all preparations would involve leveraging every available resource to minimize the disaster’s impact on the affected population.

Escalating Threat

The heightened alert level for Mount Ibu was declared by the Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) on Wednesday afternoon, raising it to Level IV. This decision came after the agency’s monitoring team observed a significant surge in volcanic activity at Mount Ibu between January 1 and 14, 2025.

During this period, the Mount Ibu observation post in Gam Ici village, West Halmahera, documented an average of 70 eruptions daily. Moreover, indicators showed fluctuations in the eruption column’s height, with reports of it reaching a maximum of 4 kilometers from the summit. The seismic activity during January 2025 included 748 eruption earthquakes, 70 avalanche earthquakes, 1,643 gust earthquakes, 6,976 shallow volcanic earthquakes, 346 deep volcanic earthquakes, and 60 local tectonic earthquakes, with a dominant amplitude of 3 millimeters.

As authorities brace for potential challenges posed by the heightened volcanic activity, the deployment of the BNPB team underscores the critical importance of swift and coordinated responses to natural disasters. Stay tuned for further updates on the ongoing relief efforts in West Halmahera.