A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted overnight, killing at least 10 people while dumping fireballs and ash on surrounding villages, officials said Monday as they raised the alert to its highest level.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,703-meter (5,587-foot) twin volcano located on the popular resort island of Flores, erupted shortly before midnight, forcing authorities to evacuate several villages.
Residents described their horror when the crater began hurling flaming rocks towards their homes.
‘I was asleep when suddenly the bed shook twice, as if someone had hit it. Then I realized that the volcano had erupted, so I ran out,” said hairdresser Hermanus Mite, 32.
‘I saw flames coming out and immediately fled. There were ashes and stones everywhere. My living room also caught fire and everything inside was lost.’
Abdul Muhari, spokesman for the national disaster mitigation agency (BNPB), confirmed the death toll at a news conference, adding that 10,295 people were affected by the eruptions.
He said the number of evacuees was still being calculated.
The volcano spews lava on its slopes during an eruption seen from the village of Srumbung in Magelang, Central Java, on November 4, 2024.
Lewotobi Laki-Laki Volcano spews volcanic materials in eastern Flores
An AFP journalist near the volcano said five villages were evacuated, forcing thousands of people to seek refuge elsewhere.
Buildings near the volcano were covered in thick ash, while some wooden houses caught fire and the ground was left pockmarked by flying molten rocks.
The crater erupted shortly before midnight and then again at 1:27 a.m. (5:27 p.m. GMT Sunday) and at 2:48 a.m., the country’s volcanology agency said.
The volcanology agency raised the highest alert level and asked locals and tourists not to carry out activities within a seven-kilometer radius around the crater.
“There has been a significant increase in volcanic activity on Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki,” he said in a news release on Monday.
He posted images showing the roofs of houses collapsed after being hit by volcanic rocks and locals sheltering in communal buildings.
Locals said the initial eruption was masked by adverse weather conditions.
“We didn’t hear any warning signs because it started with thunder and lightning,” said Petrus Muda Turan, head of a village on the majority-Catholic island, adding that the dead included a baby and a young nun.
‘After midnight, people finally started evacuating in panic. When we ran, we didn’t know what to carry, so we just carried ourselves.’
Authorities warned there was a possibility of rain-induced lava flooding and advised people to wear masks to protect against volcanic ash.
Search and rescue teams carry out an operation after a volcanic eruption occurred on Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki in the Flores Islands, Indonesia, on November 4, 2024.
Abdul of the disaster agency said an airport in Maumere, Flores’ second-largest city, had been temporarily closed and a counter had been set up for locals to report any missing family members.
Multiple tremors and eruptions occurred at the volcano last week, sending columns of ash between 500 and 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) high for several days in a row.
Laki-Laki, which means “man” in Indonesian, is twinned with a quieter volcano named after the Indonesian word for “woman.”
The mountain suffered several major eruptions in January, prompting authorities to evacuate at least 2,000 residents.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent eruptions due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an area of intense volcanic and seismic activity.
In December last year, an eruption at one of the country’s most active volcanoes, Mount Marapi in western Sumatra, killed at least 24 climbers, most of them university students.
And in May, more than 60 people died after heavy rains washed volcanic material from Marapi into residential areas, leveling homes.
That month, Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province erupted more than half a dozen times, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people on nearby islands.
