International desk: At least nine people have died after the Laki-Laki volcano erupted in Mount Leotobi in eastern Indonesia. Authorities were forced to evacuate several nearby villages after a long cloud of lava ash and smoke spread across the area, officials said Monday. Mount Leotobi Laki-Laki, located on Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara province, erupted yesterday Sunday local time. News Reuters
Hadi Vijaya, spokesman for The Center of Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG), said on Monday, 'The eruption was followed by a power outage, followed by rain and thunder. This created panic among the residents.
Authorities have raised the volcano to Level 4, the highest alert level, he told Reuters. Hadi said flowing lava and rocks spread over four kilometers to nearby settlements . Residents' houses were burnt.
Hieronymus Lamouran, a local official in the East Flores area, confirmed the death of at least nine people as of Monday morning. He said, 'The eruption has damaged seven villages. We have started evacuating residents of other villages around 20 kilometers (13 miles) from the volcano this morning.'
Nearby villages were covered in thick volcanic ash on Monday morning, Hieronymus added.
Authorities are still gathering information on how many people have been evacuated and how many buildings have been damaged.
The country is prone to frequent earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire'. It is an intense seismic activity where tectonic plates collide.
The eruption followed a series of volcanic eruptions in Indonesia. Last May, a volcanic eruption on the remote island of Halmahera led to the evacuation of seven villages.
North Sulawesi's Ruang volcano also erupted last May, prompting authorities to evacuate more than 12,000 people. Flash floods and cold lava flows from Mount Marapi in the country's West Sumatra province hit several surrounding districts on May 11 with torrential rains. More than 60 people died.
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