Mount Ibu, one of the country's most active volcanoes, sent ash plumes 4km into the sky, forcing authorities to raise the alert level and urge residents to seek shelter A volcano in eastern Indonesia has erupted at least a thousand times this month,

A volcano in eastern Indonesia has erupted at least a thousand times this month, according to an official report Sunday as efforts were underway to evacuate thousands of villagers living near the rumbling mountain.

Authorities have begun evacuating 3,000 residents near the Mount Ibu volcano on Indonesia's eastern island of Halmahera, the disaster agency said on Thursday (January 16), after an eruption this week sent a cloud of thick grey ash as high as four-km (2.5-mile) into the sky.

Thousands of islanders are set to be evacuated after a volcano erupted in eastern Indonesia, spewing a towering column of smoke and ash into the atmosphere, officials said Wednesday.

Mount Ibu, located on the remote island of Halmahera, erupted on Wednesday, sending a column of smoke up to four kilometres (2.5 miles) into the sky.

Mount Ibu, a volcano on Indonesia's Halmahera island, erupted Wednesday, sending four-kilometer high ash clouds into the sky. Authorities raised the alert level and advised against activities within five kilometers of the crater.