Latest news with #VeryAwales
Sky News
08-07-2025
- Climate
- Sky News
Flights cancelled and breathing made 'painful' as ash cloud forms after Indonesian volcano erupts
Breathing has become "painful" for people in Indonesia after a large lava and ash cloud formed as a volcano erupted, causing flights to be cancelled, schools to close and sending people running for shelter amid difficult driving conditions. Thick volcanic ash covered roads and rice fields in villages in south-central Indonesia as lava and ash clouds were sent up to 4km (2.4 miles) as Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki on Flores Island erupted for the second day running, at dawn local time on Tuesday. Debris was recorded as going up to 18km (11 miles) 13km (eight miles) into the air when the eruptions began at around noon on Monday. Local people were told to limit time spent outdoors as roads and green rice fields became grey thick mud and rocks and schools in the affected areas had been closed since Monday, public information official Very Awales said. "The smell of sulfur and ash hung so thickly in the air that breathing was painful," he said. No injuries or deaths were reported, but pictures and videos posted on social media showed people running for their lives under the rain of ash and gravel, and car and motorbike drivers struggling in reduced visibility caused by the large mushroom-shaped ash cloud Monday's eruption created. 0:42 Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki has been at the highest alert level since 18 June when a no-go zone around it was expanded to 7km (4.3 miles), Abdul Muhari, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson said. More than 10,000 people in 10 villages in East Flores and Sikka districts have been affected, according to initial assessments by the local disaster management agency. Airports in the cities of Maumere and Larantuka in East Nusa Tenggara province were still closed on Tuesday, Mr Muhari said, and dozens of flights to and from the Ngurah Rai International Airport on the resort island of Bali were delayed or cancelled. Nine people died and dozens more were injured after the volcano erupted in November. In 2010, more than 350 people were killed and hundreds of thousands forced to leave their homes after Mount Merapi, the country's most volatile volcano, erupted on the densely populated island of Java. Indonesia, which has 120 active volcanoes, sits along the so-called Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Basin.
Time of India
08-07-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
Ash blankets villages as Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi erupts again; lava, gas clouds travel 5km; Bali flights disrupted
Ash blankets villages as Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi erupts again (Image: AP) Panic gripped south-central Indonesia on Tuesday as Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupted for the second consecutive day, blanketing villages in thick volcanic ash and spewing lava and rocks up to 4 km into the sky. The early morning eruption followed two powerful blasts on Monday — a midday explosion that launched volcanic material as high as 18 km and another in the evening that sent ash soaring 13 km into the air. No casualties have been reported so far. Residents flee as ash and lava blanket villages More than 10,000 people across 10 villages in the East Flores and Sikka districts have been affected, according to local disaster officials. Roads and rice fields in villages such as Nawakote, Hokeng Jaya, and Pululera have turned into fields of grey sludge. 'The smell of sulphur and ash hung so thickly in the air that breathing was painful,' said Very Awales, a public information officer from Sikka district. He added that schools in affected areas have been shut since Monday. Volcano on high alert, airports shut Mount Lewotobi has remained at the highest alert level since June 18, with a 7-km exclusion zone in place. Authorities have distributed 50,000 masks and urged residents to stay indoors, especially with heavy rainfall expected, which could trigger dangerous lava floods. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Top Public Speaking Course for Children Planet Spark Book Now Undo Drone footage showed lava filling the crater and volcanic debris including thumb-sized hot gravel being hurled up to 8 km from the summit. Avalanches of searing gas clouds, lava, and rocks travelled as far as 5 km down the slopes. Flights disrupted, Bali operations delayed Two regional airports in Maumere and Larantuka were shut, while several flights to and from Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport were delayed or cancelled. However, airport officials said Bali's airspace remained unaffected by the ash plume. The eruption is being described as one of Indonesia's most powerful volcanic events since 2010, when Mount Merapi on Java island erupted, killing more than 350 people. Nation prone to volcanic threats Indonesia, home to over 280 million people, sits on the volatile Ring of Fire and has 120 active volcanoes. Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki last erupted in November 2024, killing nine and injuring dozens. Authorities are continuing to monitor the situation closely.
