Residents watch the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki from Eputobi village in Titihena district. - PHOTO: AFP
JAKARTA (Reuters/AFP): Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki erupted at least three times early on Saturday, spewing an ash column 9km high, as the authorities planned to widen the restricted area, officials said.
A big eruption on Nov 3 by the volcano in East Nusa Tenggara province killed nine. Since then, the authorities have been scrambling to evacuate 16,000 people from villages nearest to the crater as eruptions continued.
“The ash column was observed at approximately 9,000m above the summit. The ash column appeared grey with thick intensity,” the country’s volcanology agency said in a statement about the eruption that began at 4.47am local time on Nov 9.
Dr Muhammad Wafid, head of the volcanology agency said: “The eruption accompanied by the ejection of hot lava and hot clouds to the west and north-west of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki is still occurring.”
There were no immediate reports of damage to nearby villages from the fresh eruption on Nov 9.
But the agency warned residents to “remain alert to the potential for cold lava floods” due to heavy rainfall.
The agency plans to expand the zone south-west to north-west of the crater that people are not allowed to enter from 8km to 9km, Dr Muhammad said.
Evacuation efforts continued, with some 10,700 people having been removed by Nov 8 evening, data from Indonesia’s disaster agency showed on Saturday (Nov 9).
The head of Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said the authorities would temporarily house and fund local residents while new homes were built.
“Since the preparation and planning process for relocation takes time, we hope we can build them quickly,” said Mr Suharyanto, who goes by one name, on a visit to a shelter on Nov 8.
On Nov 8, Mount Lewotobi erupted several times, with an ash column up to 10km high.
Laki-Laki, which means “man” in Indonesian, is twinned with a calmer volcano named after the Indonesian word for “woman”.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific Ring of Fire. - REUTERS, AFP
