A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted overnight, killing at least 10 people as it spewed fireballs and ash on surrounding villages, officials said yesterday as they raised the alert to its highest level.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,703m twin volcano on the popular tourist island of Flores, erupted shortly before midnight, forcing authorities to evacuate several villages.
Residents described their horror when the crater started shooting flaming rocks at their homes.
Photo: AFP
“I was asleep when suddenly the bed shook twice, as if someone had slammed it. Then I realized the volcano had erupted, so I ran outside,” 32-year-old hairdresser Hermanus Mite said.
“I saw flames coming out and immediately fled. There were ashes and stones everywhere. My salon also caught fire and everything inside was lost,” he said.
Abdul Muhari, spokesman of the Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency, confirmed the death toll at a news conference, adding that 10,295 people had been affected by the eruptions.
He said the number of evacuees was still being calculated, but said no one had been reported missing.
Five villages were evacuated, forcing thousands of people to seek shelter elsewhere.
Buildings near the volcano were covered by thick ash while others had collapsed from falling volcanic debris, with the rubble still smoldering hours after the eruption. Some wooden homes caught fire, and the ground was pockmarked with holes caused by flying molten rocks.
The crater erupted just before midnight and then again at 1:27am and 2:48am, the Volcanological Survey of Indonesia said.
The agency raised the highest alert level because of an increase in volcanic activity, telling locals and tourists not to carry out activities within a 7km radius of the crater.
It released images that showed the roofs of houses collapsed after they were hit by volcanic rocks, and locals sheltering in communal buildings.
Residents said the initial eruption was masked by adverse weather conditions.
“We didn’t hear any warning signs because it started with thunder and lightning,” said Petrus Muda Turan, head of a village on the Catholic-majority island, adding that the dead included a baby and a young nun.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent eruptions due to its position on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an area of intense volcanic and seismic activity.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
RSS