Indonesia (agencies)
The Indonesian authorities evacuated more than two thousand people to temporary shelters after increasing volcanic activity in the east of the country, a local official said yesterday.
In recent weeks, the eastern region of Nusa Tenggara Province has witnessed the eruption of Mount Luteopi Laki-Laki several times, most recently on Monday when it spewed lava reaching a height of 1.5 kilometers, according to the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation.
According to a statement, the center recorded another eruption of the same volcano yesterday, but no volcanic ash resulting from this activity was detected.
The local official in the East Flores region, Benedictus Bulipaba Herrin, said that the volcanic ash resulting from the recent eruptions affected two areas near Mount Liotopi-Laki-Laki, prompting more than 2,200 residents to flee to temporary shelters set up by local governments.
“There are 1,931 people evacuated in the Wulangitang area, and 328 people in the El Bora area,” he added, adding that the number of evacuated people may rise as everyone searches for safety from the volcano.
He continued, “Given the increase in activity at the Utopi Laki Laki volcano, communities must be moved to safe areas in light of the undesirable things that could happen.”
Last Monday, the Indonesian authorities raised the status of volcanic activity on Mount Ljutopi Laki-Laki to the second highest alert level of four, and expanded the exclusion zone from two kilometers to four kilometers around the volcano's crater.
Indonesia's official news agency, Antara, reported that France Side Airport, located more than 80 kilometers from the volcano area, had been closed since Monday due to volcanic ash.
Last month, the Mount Marapi volcano, “Mountain of Fire,” erupted on the island of Sumatra, the most active in the country, killing 23 people.
Indonesia is located on the “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific region, where the meeting of continental plates causes significant seismic and volcanic activity, and Indonesia includes about 130 active volcanoes.
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