Ternate seismic region where active volcanic activity and frequent earthquakes are common. Ternate belongs to a group of islands that make up the Ring of Fire, known as the Circum-Pacific Belt. Around 90% of the world’s earthquakes and seismic activity occur in this arc in the base of the Pacific Ocean. The region consists almost entirely of an uninterrupted chain of volcanic arcs and oceanic trenches, and experiences continual plate movement. There are 452 volcanoes in the Pacific Ring of Fire, accounting for 75% of the world’s dormant and active volcanoes. Ternate is dominated by the volcanic Mount Gamalama (1715 m).
2010 eruptions of Mount Merapi suffering from serious depression and anxiety, while one man had committed suicide, reportedly due to stress. On Thursday, 18 November the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs issued a second update to their 11 November travel advisory bulletin acknowledging the announcement by Indonesian authorities on 15 November scaling back the 20 kilometre exclusion zone in some of the regions around Mount Merapi. The exclusion zone had been reduced to in the District (Kabupaten) of Magelang and to in the Districts of Klaten and Boyolali. The exclusion zone in the District of Sleman, towards the city of Yogyakarta, remained at .