Hanoi (VNA) – Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, erupted for a second straight day on early August 2, sending a column of volcanic materials and ash up to 18km into the sky and blanketing villages with debris.
No casualties were immediately reported in the eruption.
Indonesia’s Geology Agency recorded an avalanche of searing gas clouds mixed with rocks and lava travelling up to 5km down the slopes of the mountain in East Nusa Tenggara province.
Drone observations showed deep movement of magma, setting off tremors that registered on seismic monitors.
Just less than five hours earlier, another eruption on August 1 evening had sent clouds of ash up to 10km high and had lit up the night sky with glowing lava and bolts of lightning.
Volcanic material, including hot thumb-sized gravel, was thrown up to 8km from the crater, covering nearby villages and towns with thick volcanic residue, the Geology Agency said.
The August 2 eruption was one of Indonesia’s largest since 2010, when Mount Merapi, the country’s most volatile volcano, erupted on the densely populated island of Java, killing more than 350 people and forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate.
The latest eruption also came less than a month after a major eruption on July 7 forced the delay or cancellation of dozens of flights at Bali's Ngurah Rai airport.
Lewotobi Laki Laki, a 1,584m volcano on the remote island of Flores, has been at the highest alert level since it erupted on June 18 . An exclusion zone has been doubled to a 7km radius as eruptions became more frequent.
The Indonesian Government has permanently relocated thousands of residents after a series of eruptions there killed nine people and destroyed thousands of homes in November.
With frequent seismic activity, Indonesia has 120 active volcanoes and sits along the “Ring of Fire”, a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin./.
Indonesia issues alerts as two volcanoes erupt
Communities are also warned of potential secondary disasters such as lava floods, mudflows, and ash rain along rivers and valleys, especially near the Besuk Kobokan River.
