Authorities further expanded the exclusion zone after the volcano sent ash and smoke more than two kilometers into the air.
More than 11,000 people have been told to evacuate the area of northern Indonesia's Luang volcano, which has erupted multiple times and is feared it could collapse and cause a tsunami.
Mount Luang, located in North Sulawesi province, first erupted at 9:45pm (13:45 GMT) on Tuesday, sending billowing clouds of smoke and ash high into the sky.
Indonesia's Volcanoes Agency raised the 725-meter (2,379-foot) mountain's alert level to the highest alert level, 4, after four more eruptions on Wednesday.
It also expanded the no-go zone around the crater from 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) to 6 kilometers (3.7 miles).
More than 800 people were initially evacuated from Luang to nearby Taglandan Island, more than 100 kilometers north of the provincial capital Manado.
But officials said Thursday morning that more people would need to be evacuated due to the expansion of the exclusion zone and would be taken to Manado.
“At least 11,615 residents in the danger area have to be evacuated to safe places,” said Abdul Muhari, director of the Disaster Agency's Disaster Data, Communications and Information Center, as reported by Compass newspaper. .
Officials also fear that parts of the volcano could collapse into the ocean, causing a tsunami, as it did during its last eruption in 1871.
Video footage showed streams of red lava flowing down the mountain reflected in the water below and a cloud of gray ash billowing over Luan's crater.
Mohammad Wafid, the head of Indonesia's Geological Agency, previously said Luang's first eruption sent an ash column up to 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) into the sky, while the second eruption saw the eruption reach a height of up to 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles). He said he was pushed up.
The Volcano Authority announced that volcanic activity has increased in Luang after two earthquakes occurred in recent weeks.
Indonesia is located along the Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped series of tectonic faults around the Pacific Ocean, and is home to 120 active volcanoes.
In 2018, the eruption of Indonesia's Anak Krakatoa volcano caused parts of the mountain to fall into the sea, causing tsunamis along the coasts of Sumatra and Java. Hundreds of people were killed.
