28 VILLAGES EVACUATED AS VOLCANO ERUPTS IN EASTERN INDONESIA

Mon 30 November 2020:

Thousands of Indonesians have been forced to flee as volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted Sunday, sending a column of ash as high as 4,000 meters (13,120 feet) into the sky and prompting the evacuation of thousands of people.

More than 2,700 people were evacuated from 28 villages on the slopes of the volcano, which is located on the eastern island of Lembata in the East Nusa Tenggara province.

The local airport closed as ash continued to fall across parts of the island. The Transportation Ministry also issued a flight warning for the region.

Authorities from the country’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center raised the level of alert in the area from three to four — the second-highest — and recommended the use of masks in order to protect the eyes and skin from the damaging effects of the ash.

They also warned residents to stay 4 kilometers away from the volcanic crater as the area was likely inundated with “hot clouds, lava stream, lava avalanche, and poisonous gas.”

The 5,423 meter Mount Ili Lewotolok is the third volcano to erupt in recent months following the Merapi volcano on the island of Java and the Sinabung volcano on Sumatra.

Indonesia has 400 volcanoes across its 17,000 islands. There are 129 active volcanoes, of which some 65 are classified as dangerous.

The archipelago nation lies on the so-called “Ring of Fire” — a series of volcanoes and fault lines along the rim of the Pacific Ocean.