Volcanic eruption in Indonesia leave at least 10 people dead

Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency confirmed on Monday that the death toll from a series of volcanic eruptions on the remote island of Flores has risen to at least 10. The eruption at Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki in the early hours of Monday sent a plume of thick, brownish ash soaring up to 2,000 meters into the sky, with hot ashes causing devastation in a nearby village. Several houses, including a convent of Catholic nuns, were engulfed in flames, according to Firman Yosef, an official at the Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki monitoring post.
Rescue teams are currently working to recover more bodies from the rubble of collapsed buildings, as confirmed by Abdul Muhari, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Agency. The bodies, including that of a child, were found within a four-kilometer radius of the volcano’s crater.
In response to the escalating volcanic activity, authorities have raised the alert level and expanded the danger zone around Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki. The volcano monitoring agency has upgraded the alert status to the highest level and extended the exclusion zone to a seven-kilometer radius following a series of eruptions that began last week.
More than 10,000 individuals in nearby villages have been affected by the volcanic material ejected from the crater, with debris spreading up to six kilometers away. Agusta Palma, head of the Saint Gabriel Foundation overseeing the affected convents, reported the death of a nun in Hokeng village, with another nun still missing.
Photos and videos shared on social media depict the aftermath of the eruption, showing houses buried under tons of volcanic debris in villages like Hokeng. The disaster agency estimates that 10,000 people have been impacted in Wulanggitang District alone, spanning six nearby villages.
Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki, known as one half of the husband and wife mountains in the East Flores district, has been active since January when it prompted the evacuation of 6,500 residents and the closure of the Frans Seda Airport due to volcanic activity. The recent eruptions have led to the airport’s continued closure.
The Geology Agency at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry highlighted the difference in the character of January’s eruption compared to the current eruption, attributing the latest activity to a blockage of magma in the crater causing a buildup of pressure.
This marks Indonesia’s second volcanic eruption in as many weeks, following Mount Marapi’s eruption in West Sumatra province on October 27. While no casualties were reported in that instance, an eruption on Marapi last year resulted in more than 20 fatalities.