Mount Ili Lewotolok Erupts, Discharging Ash and 500-Metre Lava Flow

Mount Ili Lewotolok in Lembata Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), underwent an eruption, ejecting a volcanic ash column 300 metres above the summit and a lava flow extending 500 metres towards the south-eastern sector on Friday night.

The Head of the Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Lana Saria, in a report received in Jakarta on Friday, noted that the eruption occurred at 21:41 WITA, with the ash column observed to be grey and thick, drifting towards the west.

“This eruption was recorded on the seismogram with a maximum amplitude of 19 mm and a duration of approximately 1 minute and 14 seconds,” she said.

In addition to the ash ejection at an altitude of 1,723 metres above sea level, visual observations confirmed the presence of fresh lava flows moving 500 metres from the edge of the main crater towards the south-eastern sector.

The Geological Agency recommends that local residents, visitors, and tourists do not enter or engage in activities within a two-kilometre danger zone radius from the centre of the eruption, as well as a sectoral zone of three kilometres towards the south and south-east.

The public is also urged to remain vigilant regarding the potential dangers of lava falls or landslides and pyroclastic flows in the southern, south-eastern, western, and north-eastern sectors.

The Geological Agency has advised residents living around the volcano to wear protective masks for the nose and mouth to prevent respiratory infections (ISPA) caused by exposure to volcanic ash, and to ensure that clean water storage facilities are tightly sealed.