Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki erupts again in Indonesia, spewing ash up to 18 km

Jakarta, Aug 2 Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province erupted twice between Friday night and early Saturday, sending ash columns as high as 18,000 metres into the sky, according to local authorities.

The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation reported that the first eruption occurred at 8:45 p.m. local time on Friday, producing an ash column about 10,000 metres high. The second, more powerful eruption took place at 1:26 a.m. Saturday, with the ash column reaching around 18,000 metres. The gray to black ash was observed drifting to the southwest, west, and northwest.

The eruption was accompanied by rumbling and loud booms from the volcano observation post. Seismographic data showed a maximum amplitude of 47.3 mm and a duration of approximately 14 minutes and 5 seconds for the larger eruption.

The volcano remains at the highest alert level, Level IV, Xinhua news agency reported.

Authorities have urged residents and visitors to stay out of a 6-kilometre radius around the crater and a 7-kilometre sector in the southwest-northeast of the eruption centre.

People in several villages were warned to be vigilant for potential rain-triggered lahar floods. Local authorities also advised people to wear masks to protect against the health hazards of volcanic ash.

Flight operations at Komodo International Airport in East Nusa Tenggara were partially disrupted on Saturday due to the eruption, with cancellations and delays reported.

Mount Lewotobi, standing at 1,584 metres, is one of Indonesia's 127 active volcanoes. Indonesia is an archipelago of 270 million people with frequent seismic activity. It has 120 active volcanos and sits along the 'Ring of Fire', a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

Indonesia sits on the boundary of several major tectonic plates: the Eurasian, Australian, and Pacific plates and has experienced some of the world's deadliest and most powerful eruptions, such as the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815, further highlighting the country's vulnerability to volcanic hazards.

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