Mount Lewotobi’s explosive eruption in November 2024 impacted over 10,000 people on Flores, Indonesia, with ash fallout reaching several villages.
The event followed months of eruptive activity, which had previously disrupted air travel.
Mount Lewotobi’s Eruptions
In early November 2024, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a volcano on Indonesia’s Flores Island, experienced a series of powerful and deadly eruptions. During a particularly intense eruption around midnight on November 3, hot ash shot up to 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) into the air, with some of it falling on nearby villages.
Mount Lewotobi consists of two closely situated stratovolcanoes: Laki-Laki and Perempuan, nicknamed the “husband and wife,” which are less than 2 kilometers apart. Ash and volcanic debris from the November 3 eruption spread as far as 6 kilometers (4 miles) from Laki-Laki’s crater, impacting over 10,000 people, according to Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency. Additional, smaller eruptions occurred on November 5 and 6.
Ash Fallout and Community Impact
The false-color image above (upper), acquired by the OLI-2 (Operational Land Imager-2) on Landsat 9, shows Laki-Laki on November 5, 2024. The landscape to the west of the crater was darkened by ash fallout from the recent eruptions. The other image (left) shows the same area on October 12, 2024.
The latest eruptions were a continuation of about ten months of eruptive activity at Laki-Laki. Ash plumes from these eruptions have often drifted west of the edifice. In August and September 2024, wind carried ash to the island’s Frans Xavier Seda Airport, about 84 kilometers (52 miles) west, forcing officials to temporarily close it, according to news reports.
Increased Volcanic Activity Signals
The country’s volcano monitoring agency reported on November 3 that volcanic activity had increased in the days preceding the strong eruption. On November 1, there were 119 deep volcanic earthquakes, whereas the week prior saw an average of 10-12 per day.
The conical Laki-Laki has been frequently active during the 19th and 20th centuries, while the taller and broader Perempuan erupted most recently in 1921 and 1935.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
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5 Comments
Nature mirroring America’s political upheaval and unrest?
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Landsats 8 and 9 are owned and operated by the US Geological Survey (USGS) which is part of the Department of the Interior.