Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggar (ANTARA) - Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, located in East Flores District, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province, erupted again in the early hours of Saturday.
According to a statement from the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), the eruption occurred at 1:05 a.m. Central Indonesian Time (WITA).
The volcanic ash column reached approximately 18,000 meters (18 km) above sea level. The ash appeared gray to black, with thick intensity, drifting toward the southwest, west, and northwest.
The eruption was recorded on a seismogram with a maximum amplitude of 47.3 millimeters and lasted approximately 14 minutes and five seconds. A rumbling sound and loud booming noise were reported at the Lewotobi Laki-laki Volcano Observation Post during the eruption.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki remains on Level IV or Alert status.
The PVMBG has advised the public to avoid all activity within a six-kilometer radius and a seven-kilometer sector stretching from southwest to northeast of the eruption center.
In addition, the public is urged to stay alert for the risk of rain-induced lava floods in rivers originating from the volcano, particularly during periods of heavy rainfall. At-risk villages include Dulipali, Padang Pasir, Nobo, Nurabelen, Klatanlo, Hokeng Jaya, Boru, and Nawakote.
This latest eruption followed another that occurred on Friday night (August 1), when the volcano spewed incandescent flames and a volcanic ash column reaching ten kilometers from the active crater.
Head of the Geological Agency, Muhammad Wafid, stated that Friday’s eruption occurred at 8:48 p.m. WITA and was recorded on a seismogram with a maximum amplitude of 47.3 millimeters and a duration of approximately three minutes and forty seconds.
According to Wafid, the eruption was caused by trapped volcanic gas that had accumulated inside the mountain over the past two weeks.
