Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki Erupts, Prompting Evacuations and Air Travel Alerts Across Flores

Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupted on Indonesia's Flores island, producing a tall ash and steam column that was quickly logged by the U.S. Geological Survey Volcano Hazards Program and added to its global volcano updates.

Indonesian authorities raised the alert to Level 2, ordered evacuation plans for villages within five kilometers of the crater, opened temporary shelters, and warned that ash fall could impact nearby roads and air travel.

Local residents described hearing repeated explosions, seeing ash settle on roofs and crops, and reporting reduced visibility that forced schools and markets in the district to suspend operations for the day.

Volcanology agencies such as Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation and the GDACS monitoring system issued advisories, noting the ash plume could reach several kilometers altitude and potentially disrupt regional flight routes.