REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TERNATE -- Mount Gamalama located in Ternate City, North Maluku Province, on Tuesday morning, spewed volcanic ash up to a height of 800 meters from its crater.
The volcanic eruption also triggered relentless tremors that lasted for up to 105.115 seconds and spewed volcanic ash particles measuring 0.5-3 millimeters in diameter, Head of the Mount Gamalama observation post Darno Lamane stated here, Tuesday.
The volcano's current danger status is at Alert Level II, and the ash cloud is still drifting in the direction of Tenate City Island, according to Lamane.
Despite the volcano spewing ash, the flight activities at the Bandara Babullah aiport in Ternate have remained normal on Tuesday morning.
However, the Ternate meteorology office has forecast that in the next few days, the city will be free from ash as the wind will blow from the northwest to the eastern direction.
In the meantime, the Health Ministry recently provided 500 thousand face masks to the residents of Ternate affected by the eruption of Mount Gamalama.
"The masks from the Health Ministry are expected to be sent today, and if no problem is encountered, we will distribute them immediately upon their arrival," Head of the Ternate Health Office Nurbaity Radjabesi affirmed.
Mount Gamalama has been spewing volcanic ash, affecting several villages.
At least 113 residents, mostly children and women, have been diagnosed with diseases, such as respiratory infections and eye irritation, following the eruption of the volcano.
The worst-affected villages are Takome, Loto, Togafo and Aftador, which are located on the western side of the volcano.
On July 20, the Ternate government evacuated 1,498 people from the two villages of Loto and Togafo near Mount Gamalama, which has been spewing volcanic materials since Saturday.
"The refugees have been provided accommodation in the headquarters of the Indonesian Navy Base and in a hall of the Learning Activities Studio in Ternate," Head of Ternate's Labor and Social Affairs Jusuf Sunya stated.
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