Indonesia's volcano eruption kills 10 people
AKIPRESS.COM -
At least 10 people died after Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in eastern Indonesia erupted near midnight on Sunday, spewing explosive plumes of lava and forcing authorities to evacuate several nearby villages, officials said on Monday, Reuters reported.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, located on Flores Island, erupted on Sunday at 11.57 p.m. (1557 GMT), belching a fiery-red column of lava, volcanic ash and blazing rocks, Hadi Wijaya, a spokesperson for The Center of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG), said on Monday.
"After the eruption, there was power outage and then it was raining and big lightning which caused panic among residents," he told Reuters, adding that the authority had raised the status of the volcano to the highest alert level.
The agency said a seven-kilometre (four miles)radius from the crater must be cleared.
Fiery lava and rocks hit the nearest settlements around four kms (two miles) from the crater, burning and damaging residents' houses, Hadi said.
As of Monday afternoon at least 10 people had died, said local official Heronimus Lamawuran, adding the eruption had affected seven villages.
"We have started evacuating residents since this morning to other villages located around 20 kms (13 miles) from the crater," he said.
Images shared by authorities showed the evening sky over the volcano turned red due to the eruption, while footage showed some wooden houses on fire and mask-wearing residents being evacuated. Thick volcanic ash covered roads and buildings in one of the villages, more footage showed.