Indonesian volcano spews ash 10-km high, thousands evacuate

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki erupted several times on Friday, belching volcanic ash that rose up to 10 kilometers (32,800 ft) into the sky, officials said, following a big eruption on Sunday night that killed nine people.

The eruption on the island of Flores in the province of East Nusa Tenggara has damaged more than 2,000 houses and caused thousands to evacuate.

Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for the country's disaster mitigation agency, said the eruptions were "pretty significant" due to ash rains and sand-falls that reached far into the surrounding areas.

Hadi Wijaya, chief of Indonesia's volcanology agency, said one eruption on Friday produced a towering ash column that reached eight km to 10 km high, adding volcanic matter and hot gas travelled across all directions from the volcano.

Friday's eruption produced the highest column since the first eruption on Sunday, Abdul said.

About 6,000 of the more than 16,000 people living in areas nearest the volcano had been evacuated to other villages, said Heronimus Lamawuran, a Flores government official.

Abdul said supplies of food and masks for evacuees in several evacuation spots are enough and the situation is under control.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an area of high seismic activity atop various tectonic plates. — Reuters