Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki, renowned as one of Indonesia’s most volatile volcanoes, erupted spectacularly for the second consecutive day, projecting a towering plume of ash and volcanic debris nearly 18 kilometers (11 miles) into the atmosphere on Saturday. The eruption coated villages on the island of Flores with a thick layer of ash and volcanic materials, but, fortunately, no immediate casualties were reported.
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Just hours earlier, on Friday evening, the volcano had erupted with a force that sent ash clouds 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) high, illuminating the night with fiery lava and dramatic flashes of volcanic lightning. Both eruptions occurred within a short five-hour window, signaling heightened activity and concern among local communities and authorities.
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Indonesia’s Geological Agency reported that scorching gas clouds, intermixed with rocks and molten lava, cascaded as far as 5 kilometers (3 miles) down Mount Lewotobi’s slopes. Drones captured footage of deep magma movements, which triggered seismic tremors detected by monitoring stations across the region.
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The force of the eruption ejected volcanic materials—including hot, thumb-sized gravel—up to 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the crater, leaving nearby villages and towns buried beneath volcanic residue. Residents have been warned to stay vigilant, as heavy rainfall could unleash dangerous lava flows through river channels originating from the volcano.
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This latest eruption ranks among Indonesia’s most significant since 2010, when the catastrophic eruption of Mount Merapi on Java claimed over 350 lives and forced mass evacuations. The recent activity at Lewotobi Laki Laki follows a powerful eruption on July 7 that disrupted flights at Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport and inundated roads and rice fields with mud and debris. With the volcano now at its highest alert level since June 18, authorities have doubled the exclusion zone to a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) radius as eruptions continue with increasing frequency.
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The government has responded by permanently relocating thousands of residents from high-risk areas after a series of eruptions last November killed nine people and destroyed countless homes. Disaster response efforts continue as the region grapples with ongoing volcanic threats and community displacement.
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Indonesia, an archipelago of over 280 million people, sits atop the volatile Pacific “Ring of Fire,” home to 120 active volcanoes and marked by frequent earthquakes and eruptions. This latest crisis underscores the persistent seismic risks faced by Indonesian communities and the importance of sustained vigilance and preparedness.
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