A volcano in Indonesia sent gigantic ash plumes into the sky during two eruptions on Tuesday (June 17) and Wednesday (June 18).
Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki first erupted at 5:35 p.m. local time (5:35 a.m. ET) on Tuesday, unleashing a mushroom-shaped ash cloud measuring more than 6 miles (10 kilometers) high, Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said in a translated statement.
The cloud was visible up to 95 miles (150 km) from the volcano and showered nearby villages with debris, according to the statement. The eruption was accompanied by rumbling, lightning and thunder, which is typical of explosive eruptions that spew enormous amounts of material, officials said.
A second eruption shook Lewotobi Laki-laki on Wednesday, shooting more ash 3 miles (5 km) into the sky, the Associated Press reported.
No casualties have been reported from these eruptions.
Lewotobi Laki-laki is one of two volcanic peaks on the Lewotobi edifice in Flores, an island in eastern Indonesia with about 2 million inhabitants. The other peak, Lewotobi Perempuan, is located less than 1.2 miles (2 km) away from Lewotobi Laki-laki and is currently less active. “Laki-laki” means “man” in Indonesian, while “perempuan” is a word for “woman” with somewhat derogatory connotations.
Warning signs at Lewoboti Laki-laki prompted officials to raise the eruption alert to the highest level on Tuesday, according to the statement.
Muhammad Wafid, the head of Indonesia’s Geological Survey at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, ordered evacuations within a radius of about 4 miles (7 km) from the eruption center and in an area where there is a risk of lava flows due to heavy rain.
“We immediately deployed an Emergency Response Team to immediately be at the affected location to provide technical assistance,” Wafid said in the statement.
Dozens of flights were canceled or delayed as a result of the eruptions.
An eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in November 2024 killed at least 10 people. The volcano also erupted in March 2025.