Jakarta, Indonesia
AP
–
One of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupted for the second day in a row, sending rows of volcanic material and ashes up to 18 kilometers (11 miles) into the sky early on Saturday, covering the village with debris. No casualties were reported immediately.
On Friday evening, another eruption sent clouds of ashes up to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) high, illuminating the night sky with gleaming lava and lightning. The two eruptions took place in less than five hours.
The Geological Agency of Indonesia recorded an avalanche of burnt gas clouds mixed with rocks and lava traveling up to 5 km (3 miles) from the mountain slopes. The drone observations showed deep movement of the magma, causing tremors registered on earthquake monitors.
Volcanic material, including hot, thumb-sized gravel, was thrown up to eight kilometers (5 miles) from the crater, covering nearby villages and towns with thick volcanic residue, the agency said. It urged residents to be vigilant about heavy rain that could cause lava flows in the river that began with the volcano.
Saturday’s eruption was one of Indonesia’s biggest since 2010 when Mount Merapi, the country’s most unstable volcano, erupted on the densely packed Java island. The eruption killed more than 350 people and forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate.
Also, the massive eruption on July 7 forced delays or cancellations of dozens of flights at Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport, less than a month later, when thick grey mud and rocky roads and rice fields were covered.
Lewotobi Laki Laki has reached its highest level since the eruption of a volcano on the island of Flores, a 1,584 metres (5,197 feet) volcano, and has erupted more frequently, resulting in the exclusion zone doubled to a 7-kilometer (4.3 miles) radius.
The Indonesian government permanently relocated thousands of residents after a series of eruptions killed nine people and destroyed thousands of homes in November.
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.
