Jakarta — A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted Monday, emitting an ash cloud more than half of a mile high after authorities put the surrounding area on the highest level of alert, warning another powerful eruption could still be in store. Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on the tourist island of Flores erupted shortly after midnight, sending an ash cloud 0.7 miles above its peak, Indonesia’s volcanology agency reported.
The volcano erupted once more at 9:36 a.m. local time (10:36 p.m. eastern on Sunday), the agency said.
The latest rumblings follow authorities on Sunday evening raising the alert level for the 5,197-foot twin-peaked volcano to the highest in the country’s four-tiered system.
“Lewotobi Laki-Laki’s activities are still high,” Indonesia’s geological agency head Muhammad Wafid warned Sunday. “The potential for a larger eruption than before can occur.”
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A series of eruptions on Sunday spewed ash over three-and-a-half miles above Laki-Laki’s peak, according to the volcanology agency.
Wafid urged residents to wear face masks to protect themselves from volcanic ash, while telling people not to carry out any activities within about 3 miles of the crater.
The geological agency chief also warned of the possibility of hazardous lahar floods — a type of mud or debris flow — if heavy rain occurs, particularly for communities around rivers that originate at the volcano’s peak.
In November, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted multiple times, killing nine people, cancelling scores of international flights to Bali and forcing the evacuation of thousands.
There was no immediate confirmation of flight disruptions on Monday, but the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center in Darwin, Australia, which is responsible under the international advisory network for the region including Indonesia, did issue a red alert notice, indicating possible impacts.
A red alert under the VAAC network indicates an eruption is likely or already underway “with significant emission of ash into the atmosphere.”
Laki-Laki, which means man in Indonesian, is twinned with the calmer but taller 5,587-foot volcano named Perempuan, after the Indonesian word for woman.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.
