However, given the nature of Mount Ruang’s eruptions so far, some experts believe that the likelihood for a tsunami to occur is still small.
Indonesian volcanologist Dr Surono – who like most Indonesians goes by one name – told CNA that tsunamis can occur after a volcanic eruption if the eruptions are so large that they cause avalanches into the sea, displacing millions of cubic metres of water.
He cited the recent case of Mount Anak Krakatoa in 2018. In that incident, the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatoa caused a partial fall of the mountain into the sea, resulting in a tsunami which killed more than 400 people and injured thousands of others.
However, in the case of Mount Ruang, Dr Surono believes that a tsunami is “very unlikely” to occur based on observations made on the nature of the volcano’s eruptions in recent days
“This (small tsunami potential) can be seen from the time interval between the earthquake and the eruption which is only a few hours. This shows that the magma source (eruption) is shallow, not something that is built up from below,” said Dr Surono..
The volcano’s eruptions so far, according to Dr Surono, do not indicate a massive movement of magma from the earth’s bowels to the volcano. From the construction of this eruption, there is little chance of a tsunami, he said.
“So it is unlikely. It can even be ruled out that the eruptions could destroy the island, which is a requirement for a tsunami to occur,” Dr Surono said. .
Mr Daryono – head of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency’s (BMKG) Tsunami and Earthquake Centre – said that his agency continues to monitor the sea levels for early tsunami detection by using tide gauge equipment owned by the Geospatial Information Agency.
BMKG’s Maritime Automatic Weather System has also been deployed in five locations closest to Mount Ruang to monitor the developments there.
From the monitoring results thus far, there was no change in the sea level which could indicate whether a tsunami would occur.
“Based on the data from the sea level monitoring that has been carried out by BMKG, it appears that the sea level conditions at all locations show that the eruption of Mount Ruang has not resulted in significant changes in the sea level,” Mr Daryono said in his statement as reported by CNN Indonesia.
