Mt. Lokon erupts twice on Tuesday

After being not active from eruptions on Monday (September 12), Mt. Lokon in North Sulawesi erupted again on Tuesday, at 6.06 am and 9.18 am local time, a local official said. "We categorize the eruptions as minor. We are unable to predict the height of dust flow because the Tompaluan crater of the volcano is covered by smog," Farid Ruskanda Bina, the head of the Monitoring Post of Mt. Lokon and Mt. Mahawu in Kakaskasen, Tomohon City, said here on Tuesday.He said seismic data between 00.00 - 06.00 am local time showed several quakes including one deep four shallow volcanic quakes. He pointed out that it was recorded that tremors continued with an amplitude of 0.3 - 3 millimeters. "However, it doesn`t mean that Mt. Lokon has stopped its activities," said Bina who predicted that the volcano has created dome of lava as tremors continued and a shallow volcanic quake still occurred. "When there is enough energy, eruptions will occur. However, we cannot predict whether or not there would be big ones," he added.Mt. Lokon erupted powerfully on October 24, 1991 followed by a minor one on July 14, 2011."Minor eruptions occurred for several months. After that, the volcano developed a dome of lava which would emerge when there is enough energy," Bina said. The Center for Vulcanology and Mitigation of Geological Disaster in Bandung, West Java, still declares Mt. Lokon in an alert status. "The area is considered dangerous in a radius of 2.5 kilometers from the Tompaluan crater. We hope there is no activity in the dangerous area as the volcano still has a potential to erupt," he said.The seismic data from the Post for Monitoring Mt. Lokon and Mt. Mahawu showed on Monday (September 12) that between 6 pm and midnight local time several eruptions had occurred including one deep and four shallow volcanic quakes.