JAKARTA, Indonesia—At least 10 people died after Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in eastern Indonesia erupted near midnight on Nov. 3, spewing explosive plumes of lava and forcing authorities to evacuate several nearby villages, officials said on Nov. 4.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, located on Flores Island, erupted on Nov. 3 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, said on Nov. 4.
“After the eruption, there was [a] power outage and then it was raining and big lightning which caused panic among residents,” he told Reuters, noting that authorities had raised the status of the volcano to the highest alert level.
The agency said a four-mile radius from the crater must be cleared.
Fiery lava and rocks hit the nearest settlements around two miles from the crater, burning and damaging residents’ houses, Hadi said.
As of the afternoon of Nov. 4, at least 10 people had died, according to local official Heronimus Lamawuran, noting that the eruption had affected seven villages.
“We have started evacuating residents since this morning to other villages located around 20 km (13 miles) from the crater,” he said.
Images shared by authorities show the evening sky over the volcano turned red because of the eruption, while footage shows 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 shows.
Indonesia’s disaster agency warned of potential flash floods and cold lava flows in the coming days, according to National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari.
The local government has declared a state of emergency for the next 58 days, Abdul said, meaning that the central government could help provide aid to the 10,000 affected residents. Authorities are still gathering data on the number of evacuees.
The nearest airport, located in the town of Maumere, had been temporarily closed, he noted.
Indonesia sits on the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” an area of high seismic activity atop multiple tectonic plates.
This eruption follows a series of eruptions. In May, a volcano on the island of Halmahera, Mount Ibu, caused evacuation from seven villages.
North Sulawesi’s Ruang volcano also erupted in May and prompted authorities to evacuate more than 12,000 people.
Flash floods and cold lava flow from Mount Marapi in West Sumatra Province in May killed more than 60 people.