Indonesia’s Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano erupts, spewing 1km-high ash cloud
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Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki spewing volcanic ash, as seen from Nobo village in East Flores.
PHOTO: AFP
JAKARTA - A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted on May 19, spewing an ash cloud more than 1km high, after the authorities raised the alert level to its highest tier.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki on the tourist island of Flores erupted shortly after midnight, sending an ash cloud 1.2km above its peak, reported Indonesia’s volcanology agency.
The volcano erupted once more at 9.36am (10.36am Singapore time), the agency said.
The latest rumblings come after the authorities on the evening of May 18 raised the alert level for the 1,584m twin-peaked volcano to its highest level in a four-tiered system.
“Our analysis showed that the activities of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki are still high, so we raised the status level starting on Sunday at 8pm,” Indonesia’s geological agency head Muhammad Wafid A.N. warned on May 18.
“The potential for a larger eruption than before can occur,” he said in a statement.
Dr Wafid urged residents to wear face masks to protect themselves from volcanic ash, and warned against carrying out any activities at least 6km from the crater.
He also warned of the possibility of hazardous lahar floods – a type of mud or debris flow – if heavy rain occurs, particularly for communities around rivers that originate at the volcano’s peak.
A series of eruptions on May 18 spewed ash as high as 6km above Laki-laki’s peak, according to the volcanology agency.
Images shared by the geological agency showed clouds of thick grey ash billowing from the mountain’s crater.
Rumbling noises of low to high intensity were heard from the nearest monitoring post during the eruption, Dr Wafid added.
There has been no evacuation of residents or flight cancellation due to the eruptions so far, said Mr Heronimus Lamawuran, a local government official.
In March, an eruption at Lewotobi Laki-laki forced some airlines to cancel and delay flights into Bali, including Australia’s Jetstar and Qantas Airways.
In November 2024, at least nine people were killed and thousands were evacuated when the volcano erupted.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of high seismic activity atop multiple tectonic plates. REUTERS, AFP
