Reports from Indonesia indicate that Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki has once more spewed up massive plumes of ash and smoke, leading to the evacuation of surrounding villages and the cancellation of flights, including those to and from the resort island of Bali.
Several eruptions have propelled ash as high as 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) into the atmosphere. On Tuesday afternoon, a particularly powerful eruption sent a thick, grey cloud of ash some 10,000 meters (32,800 feet) upwards, forming a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible up to 150 kilometers (93 miles) away.
The eruption alert was elevated to its highest level on Tuesday, leading to an expansion of the danger zone to an 8-kilometer (5-mile) radius from the crater. Officers from the Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki monitoring post, located 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) from the crater, were also evacuated to avoid falling debris. Thankfully, no casualties have so far been reported.
Ash and debris fell far beyond the danger zone, reaching as far as the villages of Boru, Hewa, and Watobuku. Several residents from Nurabelen village have fled to evacuation sites in Konga to avoid the eruption’s impact, as confirmed by the National Disaster Management Agency.
Flights were canceled left and right, with travel to and from cities in Australia, Malaysia, India, and China deeply affected. Volcanic ash, as we know, can pose a serious risk to plane engines. These cancellations and delays have affected thousands of travelers.
The 1,584-meter (5,197-foot) Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki, a twin volcano with Mount Lewotobi Perempuan in the district of Flores Timur, has had a series of eruptions before. The danger level and no-go zone have been adjusted multiple times, being raised once more to the highest level on Tuesday.
Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, has frequent seismic activity. It has 120 active volcanoes and sits along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
An eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki in November killed nine people and injured dozens. It also erupted in March. The current eruption raises important questions about the future safety and security of those living and traveling in the region.
As the ash clears and life slowly returns to a semblance of normality, we are reminded once again of the unpredictable power of Mother Nature. The importance of staying informed and prepared in the face of such events cannot be overstated.