A volcano in Indonesia has erupted thousands of times this month and authorities are trying to evacuate residents

A volcano in eastern Indonesia has erupted thousands of times this month and authorities are trying to evacuate thousands of residents.

Mount Ibu, located on the island of Hamahera in North Maluku province, has erupted at least 1,079 times since January 1, sending ash columns between 0.3 km and 4 km above the summit, according to a report released Sunday by Indonesia's geological agency, AFP reported.

The latest major eruption occurred at 1.15am (015am Singapore time) on Sunday, sending an ash cloud up to 1.5km high.

Authorities say the volcano erupted at least 17 times in one day on Sunday alone.

Indonesian officials raised the alert level to the highest and ordered the evacuation of 3,000 people living in six nearby villages.

However, as of Sunday, local authorities had managed to evacuate only 517 residents. Many people refused to evacuate, saying they were used to the eruption and that it was harvest season.

"There may be economic considerations and many residents are harvesting their crops, but we will continue to advise them to evacuate," said Adietya Yuni Nurtono, the Terna district military commander in charge of the safe shelter.

Mount Ibu is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes, with a significant increase in the number of eruptions since June last year.

Indonesia is a sprawling archipelago that sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire and is subject to frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity.