Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki erupts, spewing ash 10km into the sky

JAKARTA - Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki erupted on Oct 15, shooting volcanic ash 10km into the sky, the country's volcanology agency said, forcing authorities to raise the alert system to its highest level.

Located in East Nusa Tenggara province, the volcano erupted on Oct 15 at 1.35am local time for around nine minutes, the country's Geological Agency said in a statement.

It erupted again on the morning of Oct 14 at 9.21am, spewing ash 8km high, the agency said, for about three minutes.

Late on Oct 14, the agency raised its alert level to the highest point after recording "significant rising of the volcano's activities" since Oct 13, its head, Mr Muhammad Wafid, said.

"People living near the volcano should be aware of the potential volcanic mudflow if heavy rain occurs," Mr Wafid said, adding that people should clear a 6km to 7km area around the site.

Dozens of people living in villages nearest to the volcano were evacuated after the eruptions, according to Ms Avelina Manggota Hallan, an official at the local disaster mitigation agency.

Most of the residents left their villages after Lewotobi Laki-laki's major eruption, which killed 10 people and damaged thousands of houses in November 2024, Ms Hallan added.

The government has closed Fransiskus Xaverius Seda airport, located in Maumere, East Nusa Tenggara province, until Oct 16, the airport operator said in a post on social media.

The volcano last erupted in August.

It also erupted in July,

causing flight disruptions

to and from the nearby resort island of Bali.

The Oct 15 eruptions so far have not affected flights to and from Bali, Bali’s airport operator told Reuters.

Indonesia, which has more than 120 active volcanoes, sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an area of high seismic activity that is atop multiple tectonic plates. REUTERS