On Monday night, the lives of residents on Indonesia’s island of Flores were disrupted by the sudden eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki. Around midnight, the volcano spewed thick brownish ash as high as 2,000 metres into the air, with hot ash raining down on several villages, igniting houses and anything in its path. Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of a pair of stratovolcanoes in East Flores District in East Nusa Tenggara Province, known locally as the husband “Laki Laki” meaning man and wife mountains. Its companion is Lewotobi Perempuan, or woman.
This year alone, Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki has erupted twice. The first eruption in January led to the evacuation of approximately 6,500 people as the volcano began spewing thick clouds, forcing the government to close the island’s Frans Seda Airport. Although no casualties or major damage were reported at the time, the airport has remained closed due to ongoing seismic activity.
However, this time was different, as the eruption claimed the lives of 10 people, with others still unaccounted for. Rescuers are continuing to search for more bodies buried under collapsed houses, said Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Agency. Muhari reported that all recovered bodies, including that of a child, were found within a 4-kilometre radius of the crater.
At least 10,000 people have been affected by the eruption. Photos and videos circulated on social media show tons of volcanic debris covering houses up to their rooftops in villages like Hokeng, where hot volcanic material ignited buildings. Residents have been forced to flee to the homes of relatives, while the local government prepares schools to serve as temporary shelters. As of Tuesday morning, about 2,472 of the 16,086 residents from eight villages had been evacuated, according to Heronimus Lamawuran, spokesperson for the East Flores regional government, as reported by Reuters
The country’s volcano monitoring agency has raised the volcano’s alert status to the highest level and more than doubled the exclusion zone to a 7-kilometre radius after midnight on Monday as eruptions have become more frequent.