Jakarta: The Indonesian government has announced plans for the permanent relocation of thousands of residents following a series of deadly eruptions from Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, located on Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara province. The eruptions, which began Sunday night and continued with smaller activity on Monday and Tuesday, resulted in nine fatalities and caused extensive damage to thousands of homes. The volcano remains on its highest alert status, officials confirmed.
The head of Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency, Suharyanto, emphasized that permanent relocation is part of the government’s “long-term mitigation measures” to safeguard residents from potential future eruptions. Suharyanto added that the goal is to relocate all residents within a seven-kilometer (four-mile) radius from the volcano’s crater. Currently, over 16,000 people live in nearby villages, though the exact number of residents requiring relocation is still being assessed.
As of Wednesday morning, approximately 2,500 people had been evacuated from the area, according to Heronimus Lamawuran, spokesperson for the East Flores regional government. The government also plans to construct new housing for relocated residents, although specific details on the housing initiative were not disclosed. “The volcano cannot be moved, so it is the people who must move to safer locations,” Suharyanto stated.
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The East Flores local government has declared a 57-day state of emergency, prohibiting all activities within the seven-kilometer danger zone around Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki. Authorities have also heightened vigilance for another volcano in East Nusa Tenggara, Mount Iya, located about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from Lewotobi Laki-laki. Although Mount Iya has shown increased volcanic activity, no eruptions have been reported as of Wednesday, and volcanology agency spokesperson Hadi Wijaya clarified that Mount Iya’s activity is unrelated to Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki’s eruptions.
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Indonesia, situated on the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” regularly experiences high seismic and volcanic activity due to the convergence of multiple tectonic plates.
