REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TERNATE - Mount Gamalama in North Maluku on Saturday night spewed 1,000-meter volcanic ash into the air and covered Ternate Island. The visibility is only 10 meter due to the ashes.

"We cannot even see Halmahera Island from Ternate," an inhabitant in Ternate, Faisal bin Abdul Azis, said on Sunday. The ashes blanket houses, yet people's activity is still normal. He said people were wearing mask to protect themselves.

A spokesman for National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, said on the press release that his team had arrived in the location, but there was no evacuation ordered. Sutopo said the alert level for the volcano was raised from two to three.

BPBD and Health Department are providing masks for people. They also suggest the inhabitants not to come out from their house.

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