Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki, a volcano located on the remote island of Flores in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province, erupted on Saturday, spewing towering columns of hot ash into the air. This latest eruption comes just days after a previous eruption on Monday, which resulted in nine deaths and dozens of injuries.
Volcanic activity at Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki has escalated since Monday’s initial eruption. Authorities expanded the danger zone around the volcano on Thursday after another eruption occurred. The most significant ash column to date was recorded on Friday, reaching a height of 6.2 miles, according to Hadi Wijaya, head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation.
Wijaya revealed that volcanic materials, including smoldering rocks, lava, and hot, thumb-size fragments of gravel and ash, were ejected up to 5 miles from the crater on Friday. Despite the latest eruption, no casualties were reported as the 5,197-foot volcano emitted billowing columns of ash at least three times on Saturday, rising up to 5.6 miles, according to the volcano monitoring agency.
Authorities have raised the alert status for Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki to the highest level since Monday’s initial eruption. The danger zone was expanded on Thursday to a radius of 5 miles on the northwest and southwest sides of the mountain slope.
“We are still evaluating how far the (danger zone) radius should be expanded,” Wijaya stated. Hot clouds of ash “are currently spreading in all directions.”
The volcanic activity has inflicted damage on schools, thousands of houses and buildings, including convents, churches, and a seminary on the predominantly Catholic island.
Experts have discovered craters left by falling rocks from the eruptions measuring up to 43 feet wide and 16 feet deep.
Authorities have issued a warning to the thousands of people who fled the area not to return home. Plans are in place to evacuate approximately 16,000 residents from the danger zone. The series of eruptions throughout the week have already impacted more than 10,000 individuals in 14 villages, with over half relocating to makeshift emergency shelters.
Kanesius Didimus, head of a local disaster management agency, reported that a total of 2,384 houses and public facilities have been damaged or collapsed due to tons of volcanic material striking the buildings. The eruptions also destroyed a main road connecting East Flores district, where the mountain is located, to the neighboring Larantuka district.
Rescue workers, police, and soldiers are conducting searches in devastated areas to ensure that all residents have been moved out of the danger zone. As of Saturday, logistic and relief supplies have been provided to approximately 10,700 displaced people residing in eight evacuation sites.
The National Disaster Management Agency announced that residents of the hardest-hit villages will be relocated within six months. Each family awaiting rehousing will receive a monthly compensation of 500,000 rupiah ($32).
In January, approximately 6,500 people were evacuated after Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki began erupting, spewing thick clouds and prompting the government to close the island’s Fransiskus Xaverius Seda Airport. While no casualties or significant damage were reported, the airport remains closed due to ongoing seismic activity.
Three other airports in neighboring districts of Ende, Larantuka, and Bajawa have been closed since Monday after Indonesia’s Air Navigation issued a safety warning due to volcanic ash.
Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of a pair of stratovolcanoes in the East Flores district of East Nusa Tenggara province, locally known as the husband-and-wife mountains. “Laki laki” translates to “man,” while its counterpart is Lewotobi Perempuan, or “woman.” It is one of the 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, an archipelago of 280 million people. The country is susceptible to earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic activity due to its location along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines encircling the Pacific Ocean.