MAUMERE, Indonesia - More than 2,000 residents have been evacuated to temporary shelters amid heightened volcanic activity in a volcano in eastern Indonesia, a local official said on Jan 2.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Nusa Tenggara province has erupted several times in recent weeks, including an eruption on Jan 1 that spewed volcanic ash 1.5km above its peak, according to the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation.

The agency recorded another eruption from Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Jan 2 but ash clouds from the volcano were not observed, it said in a statement.

Volcanic ashes from recent eruptions have affected two sub-districts near Lewotobi Laki-Laki mountain, prompting more than 2,000 residents to evacuate to temporary shelters set up by local governments, Mr Benediktus Bolibapa Herin, an official for East Flores district, told AFP on Jan 2.

“There are 1,931 evacuees in the Wulanggitang (sub-district) and 328 evacuees in the Ile Bura (sub-district),” Mr Herin said, adding that the number of evacuees could rise as more people seek safety from the volcano.

“Due to the increase in (Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki’s) status, the communities must be relocated to safe zones to anticipate unwanted things.”

The authorities on Jan 1 raised the volcano’s status to the second-highest of Indonesia’s four-tiered alert levels and expanded the exclusion zone from 2km to 4km around its crater. The volcano’s ashes also forced Frans Seda Airport, located more than 80km away, to close since Jan 1, state news agency Antara reported.

The South-east Asian archipelago sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of intense volcanic and seismic activity.

In December, Mount Marapi, which means “mountain of fire”, on Sumatra island erupted, and 23 people were killed.

Indonesia has nearly 130 active volcanoes. AFP