2-1-2023 (JAKARTA) Over 2,000 people have evacuated to temporary shelters as volcanic activities intensify at Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in eastern Indonesia, authorities said Tuesday.
The volcano in East Nusa Tenggara province has erupted multiple times in recent weeks, spewing ash over a mile high during one event Monday. The seismology agency raised its alert level, expanding the exclusion zone around the crater.
Evacuations were prompted as ash affected two nearby sub-districts, said local official Benediktus Bolibapa Herin. Over 1,900 people relocated to government shelters in Wulanggitang and around 300 more fled Ile Bura as of Tuesday.
With the volatile volcano threatening increased dangers, getting communities to safety zones became urgent, Herin explained. Ashfall also forced the closure of an airport 80 kilometers away.
Prone to seismic upheaval, Indonesia straddles the volatile Pacific Ring of Fire, site of frequent volcanic and earthquake activity. Just last month, an eruption of Mount Marapi on Sumatra island killed 23.
Lewotobi Laki-Laki is one of nearly 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia. Its escalating eruptions in a populated area have placed disaster response efforts on high alert.
???????? | They increase the Alert to Level III after the activity of the Mount Lewotobi Volcano on Flores Island, #Indonesia.
#Volcano #Eruption #Gunung #Climagram #Erupsi pic.twitter.com/N7hgZdHsAc— ATUL AWASTHI (@atul6622) January 2, 2024
