Indonesia's Laki-laki volcano on Flores Island erupts, killing 9 people

JAKARTA — At least nine people died after Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in eastern Indonesia erupted on Nov 3, spewing explosive plumes of lava and forcing the authorities to evacuate several nearby villages, officials said on Nov 4.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, located on Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara province, erupted on Nov 3 at 11.57pm local time, belching a fiery-red column of lava, volcanic ash and incandescent rocks, Hadi Wijaya, a spokesman for The Centre of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG), said on Nov 4.

"After the eruption, there was power outage and then it was raining and big lightning which caused panic among residents," he told Reuters, adding that the authority had raised the status of the volcano to level IV or the highest.

The agency has recommended a 7km radius must be cleared.

Fiery lava and rocks hit the nearest settlements around 4km from the crater, burning and damaging residents' houses, Wijaya said. 

As at the morning of Nov 4, at least nine people had died, said Heronimus Lamawuran, a local official at East Flores area, adding the eruption had affected seven villages.

"We have started evacuating residents since this morning to other villages located around 20km from the crater," he said.

The nearest villages were covered by thick volcanic ash on the morning of Nov 4, Lamawuran added.

The authorities are still gathering data on the number of evacuees and damaged buildings.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of high seismic activity atop multiple tectonic plates.

This eruption follows a series of eruptions of different volcanoes in Indonesia. In May, Mount Ibu, a volcano on the remote island of Halmahera, caused the evacuation of people from seven villages.

North Sulawesi's Ruang volcano has also erupted in May and prompted the authorities to evacuate more than 12,000 people.

Flash floods and cold lava flow from Mount Marapi in West Sumatra province covered several nearby districts following torrential rain on May 11, killing more than 60 people. 

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