Public Urged Not to Enter Danger Radius of Mount Awu
Manado (ANTARA) - The Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources hopes that the public and tourists will not enter or conduct activities within a 3-kilometre radius of Mount Awu, Sangihe Islands Regency, North Sulawesi.
“The activity level of Mount Awu is at Level II (Waspada),” said Acting Head of the Geological Agency, Lana Sario, in the Mount Awu activity report for the period 16-28 February 2026, received by ANTARA in Manado on Thursday.
The public is also urged to comply with recommendations issued by the Geological Agency through the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, and not to be swayed by untrue and irresponsible news.
The public is further encouraged to follow guidance from the authorised agency, namely the Geological Agency, which will continue to coordinate with BNPB, BMKG, ministries/institutions, local government, and other related agencies.
Instrumental observations for that period recorded 162 shallow volcanic earthquakes with an average of 12 events per day, three deep volcanic earthquakes, and 280 distant tectonic earthquakes.
The overall energy of volcanic earthquakes, based on the Real Time Seismic Amplitude Measurement amplitude correction recording, showed fluctuating values.
The current condition of shallow volcanic earthquakes has experienced a slight decrease compared to the previous period, where the average number of events decreased from 14 per day to 12 per day.
Shallow volcanic earthquakes during that period slightly decreased but the average daily number remains above normal.
No sequences of deep and shallow volcanic earthquakes (Spasmodic Burst) were recorded.
The number of shallow volcanic earthquakes still above normal indicates that magmatic processes and pressure accumulation are still ongoing at shallow depths, causing cracks or pressure releases in rocks near the surface, thus requiring vigilance.
Results from visual and instrumental observations show that magmatic activity at Mount Awu is still occurring actively.
Although seismic conditions are fluctuating, the continued recording of shallow volcanic earthquakes in numbers above normal means that magma activity still needs to be monitored closely.
Sudden high increases in seismicity (volcanic earthquake swarms) or increases in ‘Low Frequency’ earthquakes still need to be watched in the future.
Potential hazards from Mount Awu that may occur include magmatic eruptions ejecting incandescent material and/or explosive flows producing pyroclastics, effusive magmatic eruptions producing lava flows, or phreatic eruptions dominated by steam, volcanic gases, or previous eruption materials.