Around 20,000 people have been evacuated from the slopes of an Indonesian volcano that may be about to erupt for the first time in nearly 40 years.
Mount Awu on Sangihe island began spewing ash last week, and authorities put residents living on the island near the Philippines on the highest level of alert yesterday.
"There is a lot of smoke coming out, and there are indications that it will erupt," said Samuel Dalompha, an official of the Directorate of Vulcanology based on the island, part of North Sulawesi province and site of the 1,320-metre volcano. "Earthquakes are also happening continuously, although they are still not very strong."
As of mid-morning, 20,000 villagers had been evacuated and the island's airport had been closed.
More than 80 per cent of residents in dangerous areas had been evacuated, but some men had stayed to guard their villages, officials said.
Mount Awu is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes and has erupted repeatedly since the 17th century. Nearly 3,000 people died when it blew up in 1812. The volcano's last fatal eruption was in 1966 when 40 people were killed.
Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, sits astride the geologically active Pacific ring of fire. It has more than 100 active volcanoes.