Watch: Indonesian volcano spews ash 10,000m into sky
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A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted on Tuesday, spewing towering columns of hot ash into the sky.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a twin-peaked volcano on the tourist island of Flores, erupted at 5.35pm local time (10.35pm GMT), unleashing a 10,000 metre-high thick grey mushroom cloud.
'The height of the eruption column was observed at approximately 10,000 metres above the summit. The ash column was observed to be grey with thick intensity,' Indonesia's Geology Agency said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.
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The eruption of the 1,584-metre-high volcano could be seen from cities up to 90 miles away.
Muhammad Wafid, the head of the country's geology agency, said residents and tourists should avoid travelling within four miles of the volcano's crater.
Mr Wafid warned of the possibility of hazardous lahar floods – a type of mud or debris flow of volcanic materials – if heavy rain occurred, which could hit villages close to the mountain. He also urged residents to wear face masks to protect themselves from volcanic ash.
In November, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted multiple times, killing nine people and forcing thousands to evacuate as molten lava flowed through villages.
It also led to the cancellation of dozens of international flights to Bali. There have not yet been reports of flight disruptions for Tuesday's eruption.
Laki-Laki, which means man in Indonesian, is twinned with the calmer but taller 1,703-metre volcano Perempuan, named after the Indonesian word for woman.
Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation of 270 million people, has 120 active volcanoes. It experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity because of its position along the Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines that encircles most of the Pacific Ocean.
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