Indonesia's Mt Lewotobi erupts, spewing thick gray ash up to 1,000 meters above its peak

19/03/2026

Indonesia's Mt Lewotobi erupts, spewing thick gray ash up to 1,000 meters above its peak

In photo released by the Geological Agency (Badan Geologi) of the Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki spews volcanic materials during an eruption in East Flores, Indonesia on July 7, 2025. (AP)

JAKARTA, March 19, (Xinhua): Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki erupted on Thursday at 2:36 p.m. local time, sending a thick column of gray ash up to 1,000 meters above its 1,703-meter peak, according to the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG).

"The eruption was recorded on a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 14.8 mm and a duration of 130 seconds," said Herman Yosef Mboro, an official at the Lewotobi Laki-laki Volcano Observation Post in East Nusa Tenggara Province, in a press release.

PVMBG urged residents to avoid activities within a 4-kilometer radius of the crater and to wear masks to protect their respiratory systems from volcanic ash. Residents were also advised to remain alert to the risk of rain-induced lava floods in rivers originating from the volcano during periods of heavy rainfall.