Mount Ibu Erupts Again This Afternoon (Thursday, January 8, 2026)

Mount Ibu in North Maluku erupted again on Thursday (1/8/2026) at 11:48 WIT. In the past week, Mount Ibu has erupted 15 times.

Based on eruption information from the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) through the MAGMA Indonesia application, the ash column height was observed at approximately 600 meters above the peak or 1,925 meters above sea level.

The ash column was observed to be gray with a thick intensity heading south. The eruption was recorded on a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 28 millimeters and a duration of 56 seconds.

(Read: Distribution of Fatalities from Floods and Landslides in North Sumatra (December 9, 2025))

According to the MAGMA Indonesia volcano activity report, Mount Ibu's activity level is at Level II (Alert). Seismic observations on January 8, 2026, from 00:00-23:59 WIT showed 59 eruption earthquakes occurred with amplitudes of 10-28 millimeters and earthquake durations of 30-60 seconds.

Additionally, there was 1 emission earthquake with an amplitude of 15 millimeters and a duration of 38 seconds, as well as 11 harmonic tremors with amplitudes of 2-3 millimeters and durations of 22-103 seconds.

PVMBG urges the community around Mount Ibu and visitors/tourists not to engage in activities within a 2-kilometer radius and a sectoral expansion of 3.5 kilometers towards the crater opening in the northern part of Mount Ibu's active crater.

During 2026, MAGMA Indonesia recorded 119 volcanic eruptions across Indonesia. Mount Semeru in East Java erupted the most (71 times), while Mount Ibu erupted 40 times.

(Read: West Sumatra Floods and Landslides Claim 200 Lives, Here is the Distribution (4 December 2025))