Volcano eruption in Indonesia killed 10 people, set houses on fire

A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted overnight and spewed fireballs and ash into surrounding villages, killing at least 10 people, authorities said Monday, raising the alert to the highest level.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a twin 1,703-meter (5,587-foot) volcano located on the popular tourist island of Flores, erupted shortly before midnight, forcing authorities to evacuate many villages.

Residents told of their horror as the crater began throwing flaming rocks into their homes.

“While I was sleeping, suddenly the bed shook twice, as if someone had hit it. Then I realized that the volcano had erupted and I ran outside,” said Hermanus Mite, a 32-year-old hairdresser.

“I saw the flames coming out and I ran away immediately. There were ashes and stones everywhere. A fire broke out in my living room and everything in it was destroyed.”

Abdul Muhari, spokesman for the country’s disaster mitigation agency (BNPB), confirmed the death toll at a press conference and added that 10,295 people were affected by the explosions.

He said the number of evacuees was still being tallied but no one had been reported missing.

One AFP The journalist near the volcano said that five villages were evacuated and thousands of people had to take shelter elsewhere.

Buildings near the volcano were covered in thick ash, while others had collapsed from falling volcanic debris, and the rubble was still smoldering hours after the eruption.

Some wooden houses caught fire, leaving holes in the ground caused by molten rocks flying.

The country’s volcanology agency said the crater erupted just before midnight and then erupted again at 1.27am (1727 GMT Sunday) and again at 2.48am.

The volcanological agency raised its highest alert level due to the increase in volcanic activity, telling locals and tourists not to operate within a seven-kilometer (4.3-mile) radius of the crater.

Images were published showing the roofs of houses collapsing as a result of the impact of volcanic rocks and local people taking shelter in common buildings.

They are all in a state of ‘panic’

Local people said that the first explosion was masked due to adverse weather conditions.

“We did not hear any warning signs because it started with thunder and lightning,” said Petrus Muda Turan, headman of a village on the predominantly Catholic island, adding that a baby and a young nun were among the dead.

“After midnight, people started evacuating in panic. We didn’t know what to bring while we were running, so we took ourselves.”

An airport in Maumere, Flores’ second-largest town, was temporarily closed and a desk was set up for locals to report missing relatives, said Abdul of the disaster agency.

Supriyanto Ridwan, head of the Maumere search and rescue agency, said thick ash and mud from rain early Monday hampered search efforts but conditions had eased.

“An hour ago the volcano roared but no hot clouds or lava were seen,” he said AFP On Monday.

Multiple tremors and explosions occurred at the volcano last week, sending columns of ash between 500 and 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) into the sky for several days in a row.

Laki-Laki, which means “man” in Indonesian, matches a quieter volcano named after the Indonesian word for “woman.”

There were several major eruptions on the mountain in January, prompting authorities to evacuate at least 2,000 residents.

Indonesia, a vast archipelagic country, is subject to frequent eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an area of ​​intense volcanic and seismic activity.

In December last year, the eruption of Mount Marapi in West Sumatra, one of the country’s most active volcanoes, caused the death of at least 24 climbers, most of them university students.

In May, more than 60 people died as a result of heavy rains carrying volcanic materials to residential areas in Marapi and sweeping away houses.

That month, Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province erupted more than half a dozen times, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people living on nearby islands.