A volcanic eruption has claimed at least 10 lives and forced the evacuation of several villages in eastern Indonesia, one of Australia’s closest neighbors.
Lava, volcanic ash and glowing rocks erupted from Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, a 1,703-meter-high twin volcano on Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara province, around midnight Sunday – around 3 a.m. Monday AEDT.
The alert status has since been raised to level four, the highest level.
“After the eruption, there was a power outage and then rain and heavy lightning that caused panic among residents,” Hadi Wijaya, a spokesperson for the Center of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, told reporters. Reuters.
The agency recommended clearing a 7 km radius around the eruption site after lava and rocks hit settlements just 4 km from the crater.
The eruption has not yet affected Australian flight paths, but the situation is being continuously monitored.
At least 10,000 people were affected by the eruption in Wulanggitang district and six nearby villages: Pululera, Nawokote, Hokeng Jaya, Klatanlo, Boru and Boru Kedang.
Authorities are still collecting data on the extent of damage and the number of evacuees, but have confirmed that at least 10 people have been killed.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki erupted in eastern Indonesia around midnight local time on Sunday
Authorities are still collecting data on the extent of damage and the number of evacuees, but have confirmed that at least 10 people have been killed.
“We have started evacuating residents to other villages about 20 km from the crater since this morning,” local official Heronimus Lamawuran said.
The villages closest to the volcano were covered in thick volcanic ash. Several houses have been burned and damaged.
Indonesia is located on the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’, an area of high seismic activity due to its location on several tectonic plates.
Sunday’s eruption was the latest in a series of volcanic eruptions across Indonesia this year.
A volcano on the remote island of Halmahera, Mount Ibu, caused seven villages to be evacuated in May.
Also in May, the Ruang volcano in North Sulawesi erupted, causing more than 12,000 people to flee the area.
Flash floods and cold lava flows from Mount Marapi, West Sumatra province, hit several nearby districts on May 11, killing more than 60 people.
At least 10,000 people were affected by the eruption in Wulanggitang district and six nearby villages