Indonesia has raised the alert level for Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki to its highest status after the volcano erupted eight times over the weekend, according to the country’s volcanology agency.
Lewotobi Laki-laki, located on Flores island in eastern Indonesia, spewed volcanic ash between 3 km (1.86 miles) to 5.5 km high on Sunday, Muhammad Wafid, the agency’s head said in a statement late on Sunday.
Activities Still High
“Our analysis showed that the activities of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki are still high so we raised the status level starting on Sunday at 08:00 p.m. (1200 GMT),” he said.
Images shared by the agency showed clouds of thick grey ash billowing from the crater. Rumbling noises with low to high intensity were heard from the nearest monitoring post during the eruption, Wafid added.
On Monday morning, the volcano erupted again, belching 1.2 km high ash clouds.
Residents Warned Of Cold Lava Flow
The agency said a six-kilometre radius from the crater must be cleared and warned the residents of the risk of cold lava flow from the crater once heavy rains took place.
There has not been any evacuation of residents or flight cancellations due to the eruptions so far, said Heronimus Lamawuran, a local government official.
Pacific Ring Of Fire
In March, an eruption at Lewotobi Laki-laki forced some airlines to cancel and delay flights into Bali, including Australia’s Jetstar and Qantas Airways.
In January 2025, authorities evacuated 3,000 residents near the Mount Ibu volcano in the eastern island of Halmahera, after an eruption sent a cloud of thick grey ash as high as four-km (2.5-mile) into the sky.
At least nine people were killed and thousands were evacuated when the volcano erupted in November last year.
Indonesia sits on the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, an area of high seismic activity atop multiple tectonic plates. This makes it prone to high volcanic activities.
(With inputs from Reuters)
