According to news articles, three eruptions during 14-15 July from Tompaluan crater, in the saddle between the Lokon-Empung peaks, ejected lava and ash, and caused forest fires on the W flank. A local mayor noted that 6,000 people were in shelters and one person had died from a heart attack while evacuating. Other articles stated that 5,200 people had evacuated. Explosions during 17-18 July produced ash plumes that rose 0.6-3.5 km above the crater.

Geological Summary. The Lokong-Empung volcanic complex, rising above the plain of Tondano in North Sulawesi, includes four peaks and an active crater. Lokon, the highest peak, has a flat craterless top. The morphologically younger Empung cone 2 km NE has a 400-m-wide, 150-m-deep crater that erupted last in the 18th century. A ridge extending 3 km WNW from Lokon includes the Tatawiran and Tetempangan peaks. All eruptions since 1829 have originated from Tompaluan, a 150 x 250 m crater in the saddle between Lokon and Empung. These eruptions have primarily produced small-to-moderate ash plumes that sometimes damaged croplands and houses, but lava-dome growth and pyroclastic flows have also occurred.

Sources: Daily Mail, Agence France-Presse (AFP)