(Jakarta) The eruption of the Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano, in eastern Indonesia, left at least 10 dead during the night from Sunday to Monday according to the authorities, who warn of potential lava flows under the effect of rain.
Updated at 12:30 a.m.
Yanuarius Arlino Welianto
Agence France-Presse
“The death toll from the eruption of the Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano now stands at 10,” Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), said at a press conference after having announced six deaths.
So far no one is missing, said the same source.
The Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano, which erupted several times during the night according to authorities, is located on the island of Flores, popular with tourists.
Ash and lava were expelled from the volcano towards neighboring villages, which were forced to evacuate.
“I was sleeping when suddenly the bed shook twice, as if someone had shaken it. I then realized that the volcano had erupted and I rushed out,” Hermanus Mite, 32, told AFP.
“I saw flames coming out and immediately ran away. There were ashes and stones everywhere. My living room also caught fire and everything inside was lost.”
In images obtained by AFP, villages located near the mountain appear covered in a thick layer of ash. Wooden houses caught fire and the ground was damaged by lava.
The eruption of the Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano, which peaks at 1,703 meters above sea level, began shortly before midnight on Sunday. It erupted again at 1:27 a.m. local time (12:27 p.m. Eastern time Sunday) and 2:48 a.m., according to the national volcanology agency.
This raised the alert level to its highest level and urged tourists and residents not to engage in any activity within a radius of seven kilometers around the crater.
“There has been a significant increase in volcanic activity on Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki,” the organization said in a press release on Monday.
” Panic ”
According to reports from residents, the first eruption went unnoticed.
“We didn’t hear any warning signs, the phenomenon started with thunderclaps and lightning,” says Petrus Muda Turan, chief of a village on the predominantly Catholic island, who adds that, among the dead, include a baby and a nun.
“After midnight, people finally started evacuating in panic.”
Spokesman Abdul Muhari said Maumere airport, about 60 km from the volcano, was temporarily closed and an office was opened for residents to report missing people.
Indonesia’s volcanology agency also warned of rain which could cause lava flows. She also asked residents to wear masks.
The Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano was the scene of several major eruptions in January, leading authorities to sound the alert and evacuate more than 2,000 residents.
Last week, it had already erupted several times, projecting columns of ash into the sky up to 2,000 meters.
The vast Indonesian archipelago experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the “Pacific Ring of Fire.”
In December 2023, the eruption of Mount Marapi, one of the country’s most active volcanoes, in western Sumatra, killed at least 24 climbers, mainly students.
In May, more than 60 people died when heavy rains washed volcanic material into populated areas, destroying homes.
A month earlier, the Ruang volcano in northern Sulawesi province erupted more than half a dozen times, forcing thousands of residents on neighboring islands to evacuate.
