Two Eruptions Occurred On Mount Ili Lewotolok, PVMBG Urges The Public Not To Get Closer

Screenshot of CCTV cameras showing an eruption coming out of the crater of Mount Ili Lewotolok in East Nusa Tenggara, Saturday (11/11/2023). (ANTARA/HO-PVMBG)

JAKARTA - There were two eruption activity in the form of volcanic ash bursts that came out of the crater of Mount Ili Lewotolok on Lembata Island, East Nusa Tenggara recorded by the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG).Opers of the Mount Ili Lewotolok Observation Post, Stanislaus Ara Kian, said the eruption occurred at 04.51 and 05.32 WITA leading to the northwest. "People who live around valleys or rivers that originate at the top of the mountain should always be aware of the potential threat of lava that can occur especially during the rainy season," he said in a statement received in Jakarta, Saturday. The first eruption ejected volcanic ash as high as approximately 350 meters above the peak of Mount Ili Lewotolok. The eruption was recorded on a seismograph with a maximum amplitude of 24.9 millimeters and a duration of 37 seconds.

Then, eruptions with a height of ash column were observed at approximately 400 meters. The maximum amplitude of the eruption was 21.1 millimeters with a duration of 119 seconds.

From January 1 to November 11, 2023, Mount Ili Lewotolok is the most frequent volcanic eruption with a total of 88 eruptions recorded. Ili Lewotolok Mountain is a stratovolcano volcano located in the northern part of Lembata Island, Lembata Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province. The volcano has an altitude of 1,423 meters or 4,669 feet above sea level. The summit of the mountain has a large crater resembling a sickle-shaped caldera that is Metong Lamataro by local residents. PVMBG, reported by ANTARA, Saturday, November 11, appealed to the public not to enter and not to carry out activities within a two-kilometer radius of the center of volcanic activity. Meanwhile, for people in Lamawolo Village, Lamatokan Village, and Jontona Village to always be aware of the potential threat of danger from avalanches and lava avalanches and hot clouds from the eastern part of the crater of Mount Ili Lewotolok.