Indonesia's Mount Lokon erupted to spew hot lava and volcanic ash as high as 1,500m today, prompting residents to flee the agricultural area.
"The eruption has set ablaze the forests around the crater," said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, adding there were no immediate reports of casualties. The volcano is located in the north of Sulawesi island.
The first major eruption of the 1,579-metre-high volcano occurred just before midnight last night.
The government is planning to distribute masks and tents for people who have taken refuge in school buildings, Mr Nugroho said.
The international airport in the provincial capital of Manado, a tourist destination for nearby coral reefs of Bunaken, was still operating normally, an airport official said.
The centre of vulcanology and disaster mitigation has raised the status of the volcano to its highest alert level, advising evacuation for about 28,000 people living within 3.5km of the Tompaluan crater.
Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, is on the Pacific "ring of fire" and is frequently prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami and floods.
Reuters