At least 10 people have been killed in a series of volcanic eruptions on Indonesia’s Flores island, the country’s national disaster management authority has announced.
Monday night’s eruption of Mount Lewotowi Rakiraki spewed dark brownish ash up to 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) into the air, reaching several villages and burning down homes, including a Catholic nuns convent, officials said. United Nations official Firman Yosef said. Lewotowi Rakiraki Observation Post.
He said volcanic material was sent up to 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the crater, covering nearby villages and towns with tons of volcanic debris and forcing residents to evacuate.
National Disaster Management Authority spokesman Abdul Muhari said rescue teams were still searching for more bodies buried under collapsed houses. Muhari said all the bodies, including children, were found within a 3.4-mile radius of the crater.
He said at least 10,000 people were affected by the eruption in six villages in Urangitan district and four villages in Ilubula district. Some have taken refuge with relatives as local governments prepare schools as temporary evacuation centers.
The country’s volcano monitoring agency raised the volcano’s alert status to the highest level after midnight Monday, more than doubling its 4.3-mile radius as eruptions increased in frequency.
Agusta Palma, director of the St. Gabriel’s Foundation, which oversees the island’s Catholic-majority monasteries, said one nun from the village of Hawken was killed and another was missing.
“The nuns fled in a panic in the dark and as volcanic ash rained down,” Palma said.
Photos and videos spread on social media showed large amounts of volcanic debris covering houses up to their roofs in villages like Hawken, where hot volcanic material set fires to homes.
Lewotobi Rakiraki is one of a pair of stratovolcanoes in the East Flores district of East Nusa Tenggara province, locally known as Couple Mountains (“Rakiraki” means man). Its spouse is Lewotobi Perempuan, or female.
About 6,500 people were evacuated in January after the island of Lewotovi Rakiraki began erupting, spewing thick clouds and forcing the government to close the island’s French Xavier Seda airport. No casualties or significant damage were reported, but the airport has remained closed since then due to seismic activity.
Mohammad Wafid, head of the Department of Geology at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said in a videoconference on Monday that January’s eruption and Monday’s eruption had different characteristics because detectable seismic activity has decreased due to magma clogging within the crater. said. while increasing the pressure.
“The eruption that occurred since Friday was due to a hidden energy buildup,” Wafid said.
This is the second volcanic eruption in Indonesia in recent weeks. Mount Marapi in West Sumatra province, one of the country’s most active volcanoes, erupted on October 27, spewing thick columns of ash at least three times and covering nearby villages with rubble, but causing no casualties. Not reported.
Lewotovi Rakiraki is one of 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, a country of 280 million people. The country is prone to earthquakes, landslides and volcanic activity because it lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a series of horseshoe-shaped seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean.
