On Monday, November 4th, officials in Indonesia reported that Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara province, erupted on Sunday midnight, spewing explosive lava columns up to 2000 meters high, forcing authorities to evacuate several nearby villages, resulting in multiple fatalities.
According to Hadi Wijaya, spokesperson for the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG), the eruption occurred at 23:57 local time on Sunday, ejecting brownish lava columns, volcanic ash, and scorching rocks.
“The eruption caused a power outage, followed by rain and thunder, leaving residents in panic,” he told Reuters.
He added that the authorities raised the volcano’s status to level four, the highest level. The institution recommended the evacuation of personnel within a radius of seven kilometers (4.35 miles).
Hadi mentioned that the hot lava and rocks hit the nearest settlement about four kilometers (two miles) from the volcanic crater, burning and damaging residents’ homes.
Local official Heronimus Lamawuran from East Flores district stated that as of Monday morning, at least 9 people had died, and the volcanic eruption had affected seven villages.
“We started evacuating residents this morning to other villages about 20 kilometers (13 miles) away from the volcanic crater,” he said.
Heronimus further commented that on Monday morning, the village closest to the volcano was covered with thick volcanic ash.
According to the Associated Press, Firman Yosef, an official at the monitoring station for Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, reported that on Sunday midnight, the volcano erupted, with thick brown volcanic ash reaching up to 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) high, impacting a nearby village with hot volcanic ash, burning several houses, including a Catholic convent.
The disaster management department revised the known death toll from the earlier reported 9 individuals, indicating they had received updated information from local authorities. The institution stated that information regarding casualties and extent of damage is still being collected, with local media reporting that more people might be trapped under collapsed houses.
Authorities are still gathering data on evacuated personnel and damaged structures.
Indonesia is located in the “Ring of Fire,” an area with frequent seismic activities due to the volcanic belt situated atop multiple tectonic plates.
This volcanic eruption follows a series of other volcanic activities in Indonesia. In May, Mount Ibu in the remote Halmahera Island erupted, leading to the evacuation of residents from seven villages.
Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi also erupted in May, prompting the evacuation of over 12,000 people.
After heavy rains on May 11th, flash floods and cold lava flows from Mount Marapi in West Sumatra province covered several nearby areas, resulting in the deaths of over 60 individuals.