MAUMERE: More than 2,000 residents have been evacuated to temporary shelters amid heightened volcanic activities in a volcano in eastern Indonesia, a local official said on Tuesday.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Nusa Tenggara province has erupted several times in recent weeks, including an eruption on Monday that spewed volcanic ash 1.5 kilometres above its peak, according to the Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG).

The agency recorded another eruption from Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Tuesday but ash clouds from the volcano were not observed, it said in a statement.

Volcanic ashes from recent eruptions have affected two sub-districts near Lewotobi Laki-Laki mountain, prompting more than 2,200 residents to evacuate to temporary shelters set up by local governments, Benediktus Bolibapa Herin, an official for East Flores district, said on Tuesday.

“There are 1,931 evacuees in the Wulanggitang (sub-district), and 328 evacuees in the Ile Bura (sub-district),” Herin said, adding that the number of the evacuees could rise as more people seek safety from the volcano.

“Due to the increase in (Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki’s) status, the communities must be relocated to safe zones to anticipate unwanted things.” Authorities on Monday raised the volcano’s status to the second-highest of Indonesia’s four-tiered alert levels and expanded the exclusion zone from two kilometres to four kilometres around its crater.

The volcano’s ashes also forced Frans Seda Airport, located more than 80 kilometres away, to close since Monday, state news agency Antara reported.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2024