Jakarta: Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki, one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes, erupted again on Wednesday for the second consecutive day, shooting massive plumes of hot ash into the sky and blanketing nearby villages. Authorities reported no immediate casualties.

According to Indonesia’s Geology Agency, the early morning eruption sent lava and ash clouds rising up to 10 kilometres, followed by another burst nearly nine hours later that produced a mushroom-shaped ash cloud reaching 8 kilometres high.

Located on remote Flores Island, the volcano had erupted three times on Tuesday, triggering avalanches of fiery gas, rocks, and lava during the morning and midday phases. Its final eruption illuminated the night sky with glowing lava and flashes of lightning.

Hadi Wijaya, head of the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation, said several nearby villages were covered in thick ash and debris. Residents have been urged to remain alert to the threat of rain-induced lava flows in rivers surrounding the mountain.3

The 1,584-metre-high volcano has remained at the highest alert status since June 18, when frequent eruptions prompted authorities to enforce a 7-kilometre exclusion zone around the crater. A major eruption in November 2024 killed nine people and injured dozens; another occurred in March this year.

Indonesia, home to 120 active volcanoes, lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a volatile arc of seismic fault lines where earthquakes and eruptions are frequent across the densely populated archipelago of over 280 million people.

With inputs from PTI