Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano erupts, killing 10 people

JAKARTA (Reuters) -At least 10 people died after Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in eastern Indonesia erupted near midnight on Sunday, spewing explosive plumes of lava and forcing authorities to evacuate several nearby villages, officials said on Monday.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, located on Flores Island, erupted on Sunday at 11.57 p.m. (1557 GMT), belching a fiery-red column of lava, volcanic ash and blazing rocks, Hadi Wijaya, a spokesperson for The Center of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG), said on Monday.

“After the eruption, there was power outage and then it was raining and big lightning which caused panic among residents,” he told Reuters, adding that the authority had raised the status of the volcano to the highest alert level.

The agency said a seven-kilometre (four miles)radius from the crater must be cleared. 

Fiery lava and rocks hit the nearest settlements around four kms (two miles) from the crater, burning and damaging residents’ houses, Hadi said. 

As of Monday afternoon at least 10 people had died, said local official Heronimus Lamawuran, adding the eruption had affected seven villages.

“We have started evacuating residents since this morning to other villages located around 20 kms (13 miles) from the crater,” he said.   

Images shared by authorities showed the evening sky over the volcano turned red due to the eruption, while footage showed some wooden houses on fire and mask-wearing residents being evacuated. Thick volcanic ash covered roads and buildings in one of the villages, more footage showed.

Indonesia’s disaster agency warned of potential flash floods and cold lava flows in the coming days, agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said. 

The local government has declared a state of emergency for the next 58 days, Abdul said, meaning the central government could help provide aid to the 10,000 affected residents. Authorities are still gathering data on the number of evacuees.  

The nearest airport, located in the town of Maumere, had been temporarily closed, he added.

Indonesia sits on the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, an area of high seismic activity atop multiple tectonic plates.

This eruption follows a series of eruptions. In May, a volcano on the island of Halmahera, Mount Ibu, caused evacuation from seven villages. 

North Sulawesi’s Ruang volcano also erupted in May and prompted authorities to evacuate more than 12,000 people.

Flash floods and cold lava flow from Mount Marapi in West Sumatra province in May killed more than 60 people.

(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Editing by Michael Perry)