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 on Wednesday. Mount Ibu, located on the remote island of Halmahera, erupted for a fifth time this year on Wednesday, sending a column of smoke four kilometres into the sky. Indonesia’s Geological Agency subsequently raised the volcano’s alert status to the highest level. “Following the increase in Mount Ibu’s (alert) level, today we will evacuate residents in five villages,” said local disaster management head Wawan Gunawan Ali. He added that local authorities were planning to evacuate approximately 3,000 residents from nearby villages on Wednesday evening. An AFP reporter on the ground reported that many residents had already gathered in a village hall, ready for evacuation. Mount Ibu has shown a significant increase in volcanic activity since last June, following a series of earthquakes.