Indonesia has evacuated about 6,500 people from the island of Flores after the Levotobi Laki Laki volcano spewed thick clouds of brownish ash in recent days, authorities said Monday, UNN writes citing AP.
Details
No casualties or serious damage have yet been reported.
The eruptions in East Nusa Tenggara province are part of hot gas emissions that have become more frequent in recent days. The 1,584-meter-high mountain is one of the "twin volcanoes" - Levotobi Laki-laki and Levotobi Perempuan - in the Flores Timur district.
The volcano has erupted 40 times since Sunday, with columns of hot clouds rising 500 to 1,500 meters into the air.
Residents of nearby villages were received by relatives or taken to evacuation centers, amid authorities upgrading the volcano's danger status to the highest level last Tuesday.
Officials are urging local residents as well as visitors and tourists to stay away from the eruption zone within a 4 kilometer radius.
Supplement
Levotobi Laki-laki is one of 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people. The country is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it is located along the "Ring of Fire," a series of horseshoe-shaped seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.
Meanwhile, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia's Mount Marapi erupted again on Sunday, the second time since December it has thrown smoke and ash high into the air, but no casualties were reported. At least 100 residents have been evacuated there since Friday.