Indonesia’s most active volcano, Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki, erupted for a second consecutive day, sending a column of ash and debris up to 18 kilometers into the sky. The eruption occurred early Saturday and did not cause any immediate casualties.
The volcano’s previous eruption on Friday evening sent ash clouds up to 10 kilometers high and lit up the night sky with glowing lava and lightning. Driven by an avalanche of searing gas clouds, rocks, and lava, the eruptions happened in under five hours.
Satellite images showed deep magma movement, triggering tremors that registered on seismic monitors. Volcanic material including hot gravel was thrown up to 8 kilometers from the crater, covering nearby villages and towns with volcanic residue.
The Indonesian Geology Agency warned of heavy rainfall that could trigger lava flows in rivers originating from the volcano. The agency also noted that the eruptions were one of Indonesia’s largest since a major eruption on Mount Merapi in 2010.
Since its last eruption, Lewotobi Laki Laki has been at high alert level and an exclusion zone has been expanded to 7 kilometers. Thousands of residents have been permanently relocated after previous eruptions killed nine people and destroyed thousands of homes.
Indonesia is a country prone to seismic activity with over 120 active volcanoes and sits along the “Ring of Fire”, a region of significant volcanic activity surrounding the Pacific Basin.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/indonesia-mount-lewotobi-laki-laki-volcano-eruption-59657396e52ec5b024ec257c35a79c79