Jakarta. Three active volcanoes in Indonesia -- Mount Ibu, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, and Mount Semeru -- erupted within hours of each other on Tuesday night, authorities reported.

According to the Geological Agency under the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Mount Ibu in West Halmahera, North Maluku, erupted three times over the course of several hours.

The first eruption was recorded at 8:36 p.m. Eastern Indonesia Time, sending an ash column 700 meters above the summit. A second eruption followed at 8:58 p.m., producing a 500-meter ash column.

Mount Ibu erupted again at 11:11 p.m., spewing a white volcanic ash column 600 meters above the summit that drifted northeast and east.

The Geological Agency has maintained Mount Ibu at Level II, or Alert, on Indonesia’s four-tier volcano warning system.

Meanwhile, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, erupted at 9:09 p.m. Central Indonesia Time.

The eruption produced a thick gray ash column reaching 300 meters above the summit. Seismic instruments recorded a maximum amplitude of 11 millimeters, with the eruption lasting 109 seconds.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki remains at Level III, or High Alert.

Around the same time, Mount Semeru in East Java erupted at 8:33 p.m. Western Indonesia Time.

The eruption could not be observed visually because the volcano was obscured by fog. However, monitoring officers recorded the event on a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 22 millimeters and a duration of 235 seconds.

Mount Semeru also remains at Level III, or High Alert. Authorities have advised the public to avoid all activities within 13 kilometers of the summit, or eruption center.

Beyond that distance, people are also prohibited from approaching areas along the Besuk Kobokan river due to the potential for pyroclastic flows and lahars to extend as far as 17 kilometers from the summit.

Authorities also warned of the risk of incandescent volcanic rocks being ejected within a 5-kilometer radius of the crater.

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