Jakarta, Indonesia
AP
–
The rummaging Lewotbi rakiraki in Indonesia erupted on Monday, sending 18-kilometer (11 miles) columns of volcanic material into the sky, depositing ashes into the village.
The volcano has been at the highest alert level since last month, and no casualties were reported immediately.
The Indonesian Geological Agency recorded an avalanche of burnt gas clouds mixed with rocks and lava moving up to five kilometers (3 miles) along the volcanic slopes during the eruption. Observations from the drone show that the lava fills the crater, indicating the deep movement of the magma that has been caused by the volcanic earthquake.
Geological Director Muhammad Wayfid said the hot cloud columns rising into the sky were the highest of the volcano since the major eruption in November 2024 and the major eruption in November 2024. It exploded in March as well.
“An eruption of that size is certainly likely to be dangerous, including its impact on aviation,” Wafid said he was attending a seminar with the Associated Press in Switzerland. “We will reevaluate it to expand the risk zones where villagers and tourist activities must be exempt.”
The Volcanic Watch Agency has increased the alert status of Lewotvirakiraki Mountain to the highest level after the eruption on June 18th, and has more than doubled the exclusion zone to a 7-kilometer (4.3 miles) radius as eruptions become more frequent.
After the eruption early last year, around 6,500 people were evacuated and the island’s Frans Seda airport was closed. The airport has remained closed since then.
The 1,584-meter (5,197 feet) mountain is a twin volcano located in the Florestimur district of Lewotbiperempuan.
Monday’s eruption was one of Indonesia’s largest volcanic eruptions since 2010 when Mount Merapi, which erupted on the populous island of Java in 2010. The eruption killed 353 people and forced over 350,000 people to evacuate the affected areas.
Indonesia is an archipelago of over 280 million people who are frequently seismic. There are 120 active volcanoes and sit along the Ring of Fire, a series of horseshoe-shaped seismic fault lines surrounding the Pacific Basin.
