Alert level raised at another Indonesian volcano: Seulawah Agam

Eruptions reader Raving brought a change in the alert status another Indonesian volcano to our attention. This time, Seulawah Agam on Aceh has been raised to the lowest Alert Status (from no alert) by the Center for Volcanology and Disaster Mitigation due to increased seismicity underneath the volcano. The volcano hasn’t erupted since 1839 when it produced a VEI 2 eruption. Beyond that, little is known about Seulawah Agam – it appears that there have been no historic eruptions, but there may have been some minor hydrothermal explosions. A 3-km exclusion zone has been declared around the volcano but no evacuations have been called.

This goes with the highest alert status for Sinabung and second highest for Ibu as well. When you combine that with all the volcanoes on the third highest status (Egon, Talang, Karangetang, Batur, Kaba, Anak Krakatau, Semeru, Slamet, Sangeang Api, Rinjani, Soputan and Bromo) you can see the challenge of keeping tabs on all these systems in Indonesia. You can check out a map of the alert status for Indonesia (although it doesn’t look as updated as the post linked above), check this out.

Top left: A May 2007 shot of Seulawah Agam on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Photo by Michael Thirnbeck.