Hot ash sent six miles high as Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano erupts again
One of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes is erupting for a second straight day
Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki, one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, erupted for a second consecutive day on Wednesday, spewing towering columns of hot ash that subsequently blanketed nearby communities. No casualties were immediately reported following the significant volcanic activity.
Indonesia’s Geology Agency confirmed an early morning eruption propelled lava and dense ash clouds up to 10 kilometres (6 miles) high. Less than nine hours later, a second, powerful burst sent a distinctive mushroom-shaped ash cloud soaring as high as 8 kilometres (nearly 5 miles) into the atmosphere.
The rumbling volcano on remote Flores island erupted three times Tuesday. Avalanches of searing gas clouds mixed with rocks and lava fell down the slopes in the morning and midday eruptions. The third eruption of the day lit up the night sky with glowing lava and bolts of lightning.
Several villages have been blanketed in ash and debris, Hadi Wijaya, head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation, said in a statement. He warned residents to be vigilant about heavy rainfall that could trigger lava flows in rivers originating from the volcano.
The 1,584-meter (5,197-foot) mountain has been at the highest alert level since an eruption on June 18, and an exclusion zone was set at 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) from the crater as eruptions became more frequent. Its major eruption in November 2024 killed nine people and injured dozens. It also erupted in March.
Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 280 million people with frequent seismic activity. It has 120 active volcanoes and sits along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.