PVMBG reported that Ibu continued to erupt during 17-23 January. White-and-gray ash emissions rose 200-1,500 m above the summit and drifted in multiple directions. An eruptive event at 2200 on 2 February produced a white, gray, and black ash plume that rose as high as 2 km above the summit and drifted mainly SW. Booming noises were heard at the observation post. According to a news article, incandescent material was ejected 600 m above the summit and as far as 1 km to the N, NW, W, and S. The Alert Level remained at 2 (the second highest level on a four-level scale), with the public advised to stay outside of the 2 km hazard zone and 3.5 km away from the N area of the active crater.

Geological Summary. The truncated summit of Gunung Ibu stratovolcano along the NW coast of Halmahera Island has large nested summit craters. The inner crater, 1 km wide and 400 m deep, has contained several small crater lakes. The 1.2-km-wide outer crater is breached on the N, creating a steep-walled valley. A large cone grew ENE of the summit, and a smaller one to the WSW has fed a lava flow down the W flank. A group of maars is located below the N and W flanks. The first observed and recorded eruption was a small explosion from the summit crater in 1911. Eruptive activity began again in December 1998, producing a lava dome that eventually covered much of the floor of the inner summit crater along with ongoing explosive ash emissions.

Sources: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM), Antara News