November 8th 2024.
On Friday, Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano continued to release massive columns of hot ash into the air, following a deadly eruption that took the lives of nine people and injured many others. The activity at the remote island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province has been steadily increasing since the initial eruption on Monday, leading the authorities to expand the danger zone on Thursday.
During a news conference, Hadi Wijaya, the head of the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation, reported that the volcano has released its largest column of ash yet, reaching a height of 10 kilometers. The materials being ejected from the volcano include rocks, lava, and small fragments of gravel and ash, which have been propelled up to 8 kilometers from the crater.
Despite the dramatic display of the volcano's power, there have been no new casualties reported from the latest eruption. However, the alert status for Lewotobi Laki Laki has been raised to the highest level by the volcano monitoring agency. As a precautionary measure, the authorities have expanded the danger zone to a radius of eight kilometers on the northwest and southwest slopes of the mountain, as the hot clouds of ash are spreading in all directions.
The volcanic activity has caused significant damage to schools and thousands of houses and buildings, including convents, churches, and a seminary on the majority-Catholic island. Experts who have surveyed the area have found craters up to 13 meters wide and five meters deep from rocks that have fallen during the eruptions.
As a result of the danger posed by the ongoing volcanic activity, the government has advised the thousands of people who have fled the area to not return home. Plans are in place to evacuate around 16,000 residents from the danger zone. So far, more than 10,000 people in 10 villages have been affected, with over half of them seeking shelter in emergency shelters.
Rescue workers, police, and soldiers have been working diligently to ensure that all residents have been safely evacuated from the affected areas. As they continue their search, logistic and relief supplies are being provided to nearly 6,000 displaced individuals in three evacuation sites. The National Disaster Management Agency has also announced that the residents of the hardest-hit villages will be relocated within six months and each family will receive a monthly compensation of 500,000 rupiah.
This is not the first time that Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki has erupted this year. In January, around 6,500 people were evacuated when the volcano began spewing thick clouds, leading to the closure of the island's Fransiskus Xaverius Seda Airport. Fortunately, there were no casualties or major damage reported. However, the airport has remained closed due to ongoing seismic activity. Three other airports in neighboring districts have also been shut down due to safety concerns related to the volcanic ash.
Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of a pair of stratovolcanoes in the East Flores district, known locally as the "husband and wife mountains." Its partner, Lewotobi Perempuan, stands at 1,584 meters and together they make up one of the 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The archipelago of 280 million people is prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions due to its location along the "Ring of Fire," a series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.
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