East Flores, INDONESIA: At least six people died after a volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted several times overnight, officials said on Monday (Nov 4), raising the alert level to the highest in a system of four levels.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, located on the popular tourist island of Flores, spewed ash and lava that sprinkled the surrounding area with fireballs, forcing authorities to evacuate several villages.

“Six deaths have been confirmed,” Abdul Muhari, a spokesman for the country’s disaster management agency, told Kompas TV.

Images obtained by AFP showed villages near the volcano covered in thick ash, with some areas on fire.

An AFP journalist near the volcano said five villages had been evacuated.

Some wooden houses caught fire and the ground was pockmarked with holes caused by molten rock.

The crater erupted just before midnight and then again at 1:27 a.m. and 2:48 a.m. local time, the agency said.

The country’s volcanology agency raised the alert level to the highest and told locals and tourists not to carry out activities within a 7km radius of the crater.

“There has been a significant increase in volcanic activity on Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki,” said a press release on Monday.

THE RAIN OF ASH

It warned there was a potential for rain-induced lava flooding and told locals to wear masks to avoid the effects of volcanic ash.

The mountain had several major eruptions in January, prompting authorities at the time to raise the alert to the highest level and evacuate at least 2,000 residents.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent eruptions due to its position on the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire,” an area of ​​intense volcanic and seismic activity.

Last December, an eruption at one of the country’s most active volcanoes, Mount Marapi in West Sumatra, killed at least 24 climbers, mostly students.

And in May, more than 60 people died after heavy rains washed volcanic material from Marapi into residential areas, sweeping away homes.

That month Mount Ruang in North Sulawesi province has erupted more than half a dozen times, forcing thousands of residents of nearby islands to evacuate.