Indonesia evacuates 16 000 people after Levotobi volcano erupts

The Indonesian government is going to evacuate at least 16 ,000 residents from villages around the Levotobi Laki Laki volcano, whose eruption killed nine people and damaged thousands of homes, an official said on Tuesday, UNN reports citing Reuters.

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The Levotobi Laki Laki volcano, located on Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara province, erupted on Sunday evening, followed by a smaller eruption on Monday evening, and the volcano remains at the highest level of volcanic danger in Indonesia.

Evacuations were hampered by thick volcanic ash on some roads, one official said.

By Tuesday morning, about 2,472 of the 16,086 residents of the eight villages had been evacuated, regional government spokesman Jeronimus Lamavuran told Reuters.

"We plan to temporarily evacuate residents until it is safe for them to return to their villages," he said.

The people were taken to three school buildings and temporary shelters in other villages about 20 kilometers from the crater, Mr. Geronimus added.

"We sent more trucks along with the military and police to help with the evacuation on Tuesday," he said.

Authorities revised the death toll from 10 to nine, 63 were injured, some 2,384 homes and at least 25 schools were damaged.

The local government has declared a state of emergency for the next 58 days, which means that the central government can help residents. Four small airports on the island of Flores were closed due to the eruption.

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Indonesia is located on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of high seismic activity where several tectonic plates meet.