Nature
PUBLISHED
An enormous column of ash estimated to be 18 kilometers (11 miles) high is currently looming over Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki on the Indonesian island of Flores, after the volcano explosively erupted on Monday (July 7) morning.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.According to a report from the head of Indonesia’s geological agency, Dr Muhammad Wafid, observations of the volcano carried out in the day prior to the eruption showed “white-colored emissions” rising around 50 to 200 meters (164 to 656 feet) from the crater, which was also filling up with lava.
Then, at 11:05 Central Indonesia Time, “an explosive eruption occurred,” Wafid said. As well as generating a spectacularly tall ash cloud, the eruption “was accompanied by a loud explosion and pyroclastic flows reaching up to 5 kilometers [3 miles] to the north and northeast.”
Footage of the ash cloud has been captured from the nearby village of Nawokote, and shows the intimidatingly high plume of volcanic material towering in stark contrast with the surrounding blue sky.
No casualties have been reported in the immediate wake of the eruption, though the public have been advised not to go within a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) radius from the center of the eruption, to wear masks or face coverings if affected by falling ash, and to remain alert for volcanic mudflows (known as lahars) should heavy rainfall occur.
This isn’t the only significant eruption to have occurred at Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki of late; back in November 2024, at least 10 people were killed after the volcano erupted. Since then, the volcano erupted again in March of this year, and less than a month ago, on June 18.
According to AP, the volcano has been at its highest alert level since the June eruption – so was there a way to tell this next eruption was coming?
Predicting volcanic eruptions is notoriously difficult, though data collected over the last week show some possible indicators that magma from beneath the Earth’s crust was being pushed up towards the surface. GPS data suggest “a release of deeper internal pressure”, while data from tiltmeters – devices that measure even the tiniest of changes in deformation of the ground – indicate surface-level pressure build up due to magma.
That shallow pressure was still present around an hour after the big eruption, and earthquake data and visual observations carried out later in the day have shown further eruptions, suggesting magma is still making its way to the surface – so the volcanic activity likely isn’t over just yet.
