Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in eastern Indonesia erupted on Sunday, sending explosive plumes of lava flying upwards and prompting authorities to evacuate several neighboring communities, killing at least nine people, officials said Monday.
Hadi Wijaya, a spokesman for the Center of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, said Monday that Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, which is situated on Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara province, erupted on Sunday at 11:57 p.m. local time (11:57 a.m. ET), spewing a fiery red column of lava, volcanic ash, and incandescent rocks.
He told Reuters, “After the eruption, there was a power outage and then it was raining and big lightning which caused panic among residents.” The authorities have upgraded the volcano’s status to category IV, or the highest, he said.
More than four kilometers should be cleared, according to the agency’s recommendations.
About two kilometers from the crater, the closest towns were struck by fiery lava and boulders, which destroyed and burned the homes of the locals, according to Hadi.
According to Heronimus Lamawuran, a local authority in the East Flores district, the eruption has impacted seven communities and resulted in the deaths of at least nine individuals as of Monday morning.
According to him, “since this morning, we have begun evacuating residents to other villages” that are around 13 miles away from the crater.
Heronimus stated that on Monday morning, dense volcanic ash coated the nearby settlements.
Data on the number of evacuees and destroyed structures is still being gathered by the authorities.
The “Pacific Ring of Fire,” which is a region of intense seismic activity situated atop many tectonic plates, is where Indonesia is located.
This eruption comes after many other Indonesian volcanoes had erupted. Mount Ibu, a volcano on the isolated island of Halmahera, forced the evacuation of seven settlements in May.
In the spring, the Ruang volcano in North Sulawesi erupted as well, forcing officials to evacuate almost 12,000 people.
Two dozen climbers were murdered by an unexpected explosion at Mount Marapi in West Sumatra province in December when they were ascending the almost 9,480-foot summit.
