No damage or casualties were immediately reported but images showed a column of ash soaring into the sky on Halmahera island in North Maluku province.
Authorities said it reached more than five kilometres above the volcano's peak, one of the biggest eruptions in recent months.
The grey-black ash column was observed with "thick intensity, leaning towards the west," Geology Agency head Muhammad Wafid said in a statement Monday.
Wafid urged nearby residents to wear facemasks and glasses when going outdoors to protect against falling volcanic ash.
The volcano erupted on Saturday on a smaller scale, spewing lava, belching ash several kilometres into the night sky, and causing lightning.
The alert level remained at the second-highest of a four-tiered system on Monday after authorities raised it last week, with an exclusion zone between three and five kilometres (two to three miles) around the volcano's crater.
Ibu is one of Indonesia's most active volcanos, erupting more than 21,000 times last year.
Geology Agency official Sofyan Primulyana said Ibu recorded an average of 58 eruptions per day in 2023.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire".
Last month, Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province erupted more than half a dozen times, forcing thousands of residents of nearby islands to evacuate and it remains at the highest alert level.
All of the 800 or so residents of Ruang island will be permanently relocated.
'God, have mercy!': Survivors recount horror of Indonesia flood
Agam, Indonesia (AFP) May 12, 2024 - Rina Devina was getting ready to go to sleep with her husband and two of her children at home on the Indonesian island of Sumatra when she heard a thunderous noise and someone shouted "flash flood!"
Hours of heavy rain and cold lava from nearby volcano Mount Marapi inundated two districts just before midnight on Saturday, sweeping dozens of people to their deaths and damaging homes, roads and mosques. More than a dozen remain missing.
Residents of Tanah Datar and nearby Agam district who survived recounted their horror when the flash floods tore through, carrying their neighbours away and submerging houses and buildings.
"The rain was very heavy, I heard the thunder and the sound similar to boiling water. It was the sound of big rocks falling from Mount Marapi," Rina, a 43-year-old housewife in Agam, told AFP.
"My house was OK but my neighbour's house was flattened by big rocks. Three of my neighbours died -- the mother, the father, and the child. Another neighbour, an 85-year-old, also died."
The mother-of-three said the electricity was knocked out, leaving her unable to see anything before she escaped to the office of the village head.
She fled into the heavy rain with only the clothes on her back and her family by her side.
"It was pitch black, so I used my cellphone as a flashlight. The road was muddy, so I chanted 'God, have mercy' over and over again," she said.
Rina said she would stay at the shelter until the authorities told her it was safe to go home.
In the flood-hit district of Tanah Datar, the flooding left roads caked in mud, trucks sticking out of a nearby river and mosques smashed by logs and metal sheets.
Some buildings were covered by mud halfway up their walls, with a new, elevated road surface being driven on by locals on motorbikes above the street that used to exist there.
- 'Terrifying' -
The rains turned their neighbourhood into a sea of mud, interrupted only by rooftops, debris and palm trees.
An AFP journalist there said the powerful rains had been "terrifying", forcing residents to seek urgent shelter.
Rescue teams have deployed rubber boats in search of bodies or survivors.
Budi Rahmat, a 44-year-old farmer in Agam, remembered hearing a thundering noise and rocks rolling down the road.
"My house was vibrating. I took a peak outside and saw water flowing," the father-of-five told AFP.
"My house thankfully is OK. It's only flooded by water, not rocks."
He said they were eventually all able to evacuate to safety at a relative's house on higher ground, including his youngest child, a two-year-old.
Residents such as Budi breathed a sigh of relief they and their families had survived, while rescuers carried on the search for the missing in the hope they would be found alive.
"I paced around the house, back and forth, mulling whether or not I should evacuate. My mind was in total chaos," Budi said.
"The only thing I could think about was that I had to save my wife and kids."
Dogs, horses, rabbits: more than 10,000 animals rescued from Brazil floods
Porto Alegre, Brazil (AFP) May 12, 2024 -
At a makeshift field hospital for pets rescued from Brazil's flooded south, a steady stream of volunteers arrives clutching shivering dogs, and carriers emitting the plaintive meows of displaced cats.
Many pets and farm animals have spent days in water, without food, in the inundated state of Rio Grande do Sul, where torrential rains swallowed homes and turned streets into rivers, killing more than 140 people.
According to the latest figures from the state government, released Sunday, 10,555 animals have been rescued in the flood-hit region in recent days.
Most of the animals rescued are dogs, but there are also cats, rabbits, chickens, pigs and horses -- which arrive sedated to the shelter in the state capital Porto Alegre.
Each animal is reviewed and photographed; the images are then uploaded to the internet to help owners track down their pets.
The animals are treated for injuries and fed. Some are wrapped in thermal blankets to warm them up.
"We have rapid tests. If they arrive with any symptoms of infectious illness we separate them to be sent off to clinics and hospitals," said veterinarian Cintia Dias da Costa, 48, dressed in waterproof gear under a steady downpour.
Horses are treated by equine specialists. Many are being taken in by universities offering them temporary shelter, said veterinarian Fernando Gonzalez, 51, as he dealt with a "very temperamental" dark-coated horse.
Along with the human misery, the plight of animals has gripped Brazilians' hearts. In one widely viewed image caught on news cameras, a horse is seen stranded on a rooftop with muddy waters swirling all around.
Dubbed "Caramelo" by social media users clamoring for its rescue, the horse was eventually sedated and loaded into an inflatable boat.
In another viral video, a man is seen sobbing in a boat as he is reunited with his four dogs, rescued from the floodwaters.
- 'I want to contribute' -
"I want to contribute in some way and I prefer to work with these creatures, which are innocent and cannot help themselves," said volunteer Priscilla Correa, 51, sitting with a tiny, trembling pooch between her legs.
In the parking lot of a nearby shopping mall, another temporary pet shelter has popped up, mainly housing around 200 rescued dogs. Some play with their caretakers, while others lie exhausted from their ordeal.
"Our feeling is that we are doing something to give visibility to the animal cause. We have to understand that the lives of animals have value," said volunteer Fernanda Ellwanger, 42.
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