Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki Erupted Three Times As Of Sunday Morning

LABUAN BAJO - The Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources recorded three eruptions from Mount Lewotobi Lakilaki, located in East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), during the observation period of August 8-9, 2025.

"White smoke from the main crater was observed with a thick intensity, reaching approximately 300-700 meters from the summit," said Head of the Geological Agency, Muhammad Wafid, as quoted by ANTARA, Sunday, August 10.

Wafid conveyed this in a special report on the development of Mount Lewotobi Lakilaki's activity, Level IV (Alert) for August 9, 2025.

Wafid also reported that on August 9, 2025, the weather was sunny to cloudy, with light winds to the southwest, west, and northwest. The air temperature was around 19-31 degrees Celsius, and the volcano was clearly visible, although it was covered in moderate fog.

Furthermore, based on seismic data from August 8-9, 2025, as of 12:00 p.m. WITA (Central Indonesian Time), there was also one avalanche earthquake, eight eruption earthquakes, 40 non-harmonic tremor earthquakes, 21 low-frequency earthquakes, four deep volcanic earthquakes, four local tectonic earthquakes, and seven distant tectonic earthquakes.

"There were three eruptions, preceded by an increase in low-frequency (LF) earthquakes and non-harmonic tremor earthquakes," he said.

He continued, explaining that the seismic data indicates a downward trend in volcanic activity. However, the magmatic system is not yet completely stable.

He added that volcanic activity is currently dominated by shallow and surface earthquakes. This is evident in the increase in avalanche earthquakes due to the still-unstable sedimentary material on the slopes.

"The number of eruption earthquakes is also still fluctuating, indicating that the gas conduit to the crater remains open, allowing gas to escape, visible as thick smoke with moderate to strong pressure," he explained.

Furthermore, new magma supply is still being monitored, indicated by deep volcanic earthquakes, although their intensity tends to be slow. A significant increase in non-harmonic tremor earthquakes indicates that activity is now predominantly occurring at the surface.

Furthermore, deformation monitoring using a tiltmeter over the past five days shows a fluctuating pattern. This condition indicates that the volcano's body is not yet fully stable, although it is slowly moving towards stability.

Meanwhile, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data following the eruption on August 1, 2025, shows a slowing or stagnant uplift pattern. This indicates that some material from within the volcano has been released, causing the volcano's body to begin deflating.

However, he continued, the supply of magma from within is still ongoing, so the internal pressure that affects the surface morphology has not yet fully stabilized.

"This condition also indicates that the movement of magma from the depths to the shallow zone is starting to decrease and there has not yet been a large influx of magma," he said.

He also explained that based on the visual and instrumental analysis, the activity of the Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano is still high, so the activity level of the Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano is still set at Level IV (Alert).