Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, Mount Ibu Erupt Again

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported that Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted again on Tuesday, June 4. The agency recorded five eruptions from the volcano, which is located in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. local time (WITA).

“Today's eruption of the Lewotobi Laki-Laki saw a thick column of gray ash leaning towards the west and southwest,” Head of the BNPB spokesman Abdul Muhari said in a written statement on Tuesday, June 4.

The volcano’s alert status remains at Level II or Caution (Waspada). People are advised not to conduct any activity within a two-kilometer radius of the summit and to wear masks or nose-and-mouth protection to avoid the hazardous volcanic ash on the respiratory system.

Abdul confirmed that joint officers have been alerted at the site to secure the community living near the volcano, which is about 5,000 feet (1,584 meters) above sea level.

Eruption of Mount Ibu 

Mount Ibu in West Halmahera, North Maluku also erupted again this morning at 4:14 a.m. local time (WIT). Unlike Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, the stratovolcano’s status is at Level IV or Warning (Awas), the highest level of the country’s four-tier volcano alert system.

“The gray-black ash column with thick intensity is leaning towards the west,” said Mount Ibu Observation Post Officer, Axl Roeroe, in a report received in Jakarta, as reported by Antara.

Roeroe said the eruption spewed a jet of incandescent lava for 700 meters down the western slopes of the crater. Flashes of lightning were also visible in the volcanic ash column during the eruption.

“The booming and rumbling sound could be heard as far as the Mount Ibu observation post,” he said in the report. From 12 a.m. to 6 p.m. WIT today, the volcano with a peak height of 1,340 meters above sea level experienced frequent earthquakes due to volcanic and magmatic activity.

The Geological Survey recommends that no activities take place within a four-kilometer radius and a seven-kilometer sector extension of the crater opening in the northern part.

IRSYAN HASYIM (CONTRIBUTOR)

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