Activity continued after the 28 January 2001 explosion. On 26 March 2001 at 1440 another eruption sent a dark ash plume 1,500 m above the crater rim. Ash drifted E and N. No incandescent material was observed, but 25 minutes after the explosion ash started to fall at Kinilow village (3.5 km from the crater) and Kakaskasen village (4 km from the crater). Activity slowly decreased though 1510, when thick white gas emissions from the crater rose 400 m. The ashfall was 0.3-0.5 cm thick at Kinilow village, 0.1-0.3 cm thick at Kakaskasen village, and 1-2 cm thick around Pasahapen river, about 1 km from the crater. After the initial explosion, volcanic tremor was recorded between 1442 and 1457 with a maximum amplitude of 2-16 mm. The seismograph recorded 13 deep volcanic (type A) and 12 shallow volcanic (type B) events on 25 March; six deep and seven shallow volcanic earthquakes were detected on the 26th.

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.

Source: Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG, also known as CVGHM)