Cold lava flows are more destructive and dangerous compared to regular lava flows, as they can easily crush or bury almost everything in their path.
Lightning appears during the storm when Mount Ibu erupts on May 18 (Photo: PVMBG).
On June 1, Mount Ibu on Halmahera Island in eastern Indonesia erupted violently, sending ash columns up to 7 kilometers into the sky. It is reported that Mount Ibu has been continuously erupting since early May. However, this is the most intense activity of this volcano in 2024.
The country’s disaster warning agency recorded the phenomenon of cold lava flow forming during the eruption and warned residents to evacuate from vulnerable areas.
Meanwhile, local authorities advised residents to stay indoors and avoid outdoor activities within a 4.5 km radius of the volcano’s mouth, as the atmosphere may be contaminated with ash and dust.
How Dangerous is Cold Lava?
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), lava is hot, molten rock that erupts from a volcano during an eruption.
Cold lava, known as “lahar” in Javanese, is a hot or cold mixture of water and volcanic debris that flows down the slopes of a volcano and often heads toward valleys.
Photo taken in West Sumatra after a heavy rain disaster causing flash floods and cold lava flows from Mount Marapi on May 13 (Photo: Getty).
It resembles a mudflow but moves very quickly down the slopes at speeds up to hundreds of kilometers per hour and can travel as far as 60 km from the volcano’s mouth.
USGS indicates that cold lava flows are more destructive and dangerous than regular lava flows, as they can easily crush or bury almost everything in their path.
The danger is that cold lava can form regardless of whether there is an eruption from the volcano.
Heavy rainfall or snowfall can also erode and turn volcanic sediments into dangerous flows.
Why Does Indonesia Have So Many Volcanoes?
Molten lava escaping from volcanic eruption disaster (Photo: Getty).
Indonesia is an archipelago with 120 active volcanoes, more than any other country in the world.
Volcanic eruptions occur quite frequently here because the country is located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” – a region considered the most geologically unstable.
According to geological experts, this ring experiences frequent volcanic activity due to tectonic plates colliding and converging at subduction zones. Here, the lower plates are pushed down and sink into the Earth’s mantle.
Over time, these plates melt and become magma. When molten rock erupts to the surface through cracks in the Earth’s crust, it forms a volcano.
Scientists believe that climate change is one of the factors increasing the occurrence of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in recent years, due to the relationship between rainfall and seismic activity.
This occurs when some areas face drought, causing the ground to become unstable and generate more magma. Additionally, melting ice in polar regions may also contribute to increased volcanic activity in the future.
