A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted overnight, killing at least 10 people as the volcano spewed fireballs and ash into surrounding villages, officials said Monday as they raised the alert to the highest level.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,703-meter-high twin volcano on the popular tourist island of Flores, erupted shortly before midnight, forcing authorities to evacuate several villages.
Residents described their horror when the crater began shooting flaming rocks at their homes.
‘I was sleeping when suddenly the bed shook twice, as if someone had bumped into it. Then I realized the volcano had erupted, so I ran outside,” said 32-year-old hairdresser Hermanus Mite.
‘I saw flames coming out and immediately fled. There were ash and stones everywhere. My salon also caught fire and everything inside was lost.’
Abdul Muhari, spokesman for the country’s disaster management agency (BNPB), confirmed the death toll at a news conference, adding that 10,295 people had been affected by the eruptions.
He said the number of evacuees was still being calculated.
The volcano spews lava on its slopes during an eruption, seen from Srumbung village in Magelang, Central Java, on November 4, 2024
Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano spews volcanic material in East Flores
An AFP journalist near the volcano said five villages were evacuated, forcing thousands of people to seek shelter elsewhere.
Buildings near the volcano were covered in thick ash, while some wooden houses caught fire, and the ground was pockmarked with holes caused by flying molten rocks.
The crater erupted just before midnight and then again at 1:27 a.m. (1727 GMT Sunday) and 2:48 a.m., the country’s volcanology bureau said.
The volcanology bureau has raised the highest alert level and ordered locals and tourists not to carry out activities within a seven-kilometer radius of the crater.
“There has been a significant increase in volcanic activity on Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki,” a press release said on Monday.
Footage has been released showing the roofs of houses collapsed after being hit by volcanic rock, and locals sheltering in communal buildings.
Locals said the initial eruption was masked by adverse weather conditions.
“We didn’t hear any warning signals because it started with thunder and lightning,” said Petrus Muda Turan, a village chief on the Catholic-majority island, adding that a baby and a young nun were among the dead.
‘After midnight, people finally started evacuating in panic. When we ran, we didn’t know what to take, so we just took ourselves.”
Authorities warned there was a risk of rain-induced lava floods and advised people to wear masks to protect against volcanic ash.
Search and rescue teams conduct an operation after a volcanic eruption occurred on Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki in Flores Islands, Indonesia on November 4, 2024
Abdul of the disaster agency said an airport in Maumere, the second-largest city on Flores, was temporarily closed and a desk had been set up for locals to report missing relatives.
There were multiple tremors and eruptions at the volcano last week, sending columns of ash between 500 and 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) into the air for several days in a row.
Laki-Laki, which means ‘man’ in Indonesian, is connected to a quieter volcano named after the Indonesian word for ‘woman’.
The mountain experienced several major eruptions in January, prompting authorities to evacuate at least 2,000 residents.
Indonesia, a vast archipelagic nation, experiences regular eruptions due to its location on the Pacific Ocean’s ‘Ring of Fire’, an area of intense volcanic and seismic activity.
In December last year, an eruption of one of the country’s most active volcanoes, Marapi in West Sumatra, killed at least 24 climbers, most of them university students.
And in May, more than 60 people died after heavy rains washed volcanic material from Marapi into residential areas and swept away homes.
That month, Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province erupted more than six times, forcing thousands of people on nearby islands to evacuate.