2 days ago
Flight ‘red alert' issued & tsunami fears as giant SIX-MILE high ash cloud soars from Mount Lewotobi volcano eruption
A FLIGHT "red alert" has been issued and tsunami fears loom as a gargantuan six-mile high ash cloud soars from Mount Lewotobi after the volcano erupted.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki is one of the 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, an archipelago of 280 million people.
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The Australian government has issued a "red" aviation alert following the unbelievable eruption.
And Japan's Meteorological Agency has launched an investigation into what the tsunami impact could be due to the explosion.
Terrifying footage taken from a residential area nearby shows a gargantuan plume of grey smoke erupting from the volcano.
Visual observations taken over the last two days saw a significant increase in volcanic activity from Mount Lewotobi.
The country's volcanology agency said it had raised the alert level of the volcano to the most dangerous, warning of potential lava flows if it rains.
Volcano Observation Post Officer Yohanes Kolli Sorywutun confirmed the eruption in a statement.
He said: "There was an eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, at 17:35 WITA with an observed ash column height of 10,000m above the peak (11,584 m above sea level)."
Authorities in Indonesia said: "The public and tourists are advised not to carry out activities within a radius of 7km and the southwest-northeast sector 8 km from the eruption center, and to remain calm and follow the directions of the local government."
In November last year, 10 people died after Mount Lewotobi spewed a fiery column of lava.
Hot ashes hit several villages, burning down houses including a convent of Catholic nuns.
Indonesia sits on the "Pacific Ring of Fire", an area of high seismic activity atop multiple tectonic plates.
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