Indonesia on high alert after volcano erupts 8 times in 1 weekend

At least 10 people were killed and thousands were evacuated when Lewotobi Laki-laki erupted in November last year

Indonesia has raised the alert level of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki to the highest after the volcano erupted eight times over the weekend.

Lewotobi Laki-laki, located on Flores island in eastern Indonesia, spewed volcanic ash between 3km to 5.5km (1.86 miles to 3.4 miles) high on Sunday, Muhammad Wafid, head of the country’s volcanology agency, said in a statement late on Sunday.

“Our analysis showed that the activities of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki are still high so we raised the status level starting on Sunday at 8pm,” he said.

Images shared by the agency showed clouds of thick grey ash billowing from the crater. Rumbling noises with low to high intensity were heard from the nearest monitoring post during the eruption, Wafid added.

On Monday morning, the volcano erupted again, belching ash clouds 1.2km (3,900-feet) high.

The agency said a 6km (3.7-mile) radius from the crater must be cleared and warned residents of the risk of cold lava flow from the crater once heavy rains took place.

There has not been any evacuation of residents or flight cancellations due to the eruptions so far, said Heronimus Lamawuran, a local government official.

In March, an eruption at Lewotobi Laki-laki forced some airlines to cancel and delay flights into Bali, including Qantas Airways and Australia’s Jetstar.

At least 10 people were killed and thousands were evacuated when the volcano erupted in November last year.

Indonesia sits on the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, an area of high seismic activity atop multiple tectonic plates.