Indonesian volcano wakes up at night, forces thousands to leave homes
A sudden eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in Indonesia left 10 people dead and made thousands run away. Local officials rushed to help affected villages while dealing with power-cuts and bad weather
The quiet night turned into chaos when Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki erupted yesterday in east-Indonesia sending hot-red lava into the dark sky. At least 10 people lost their lives in this un-expected disaster that forced many to run from their homes
The volcano (located on Flores Island) started its violent out-burst just before midnight: bright flames ash and burning rocks shot up into the air. Hadi Wijaya from the local volcano center said they had to raise the warning level to its highest point because everything went dark and lightning filled the sky
About seven near-by villages got hit real bad — the burning-hot rocks and lava reached houses that were just 2 miles from the crater. Heronimus Lamawuran a local leader said people moved to safe spots almost 13 miles away from danger. The government declared an emergency status that will last almost 2 months; this means about 10000 people will get help
- Mount Ibu made people leave 7 villages last spring
- Ruang volcano forced 12000 to run away
- Mount Marapi took 60 lives in its deadly mud-flows
Indonesia sits where many earth-plates meet in the Pacific Ring of Fire; thats why it has so many active volcanoes. The local airport in Maumere had to stop working‚ and experts say more dangers could come from cold lava-flows and flash floods in next days
