Jakarta, Oct 1
Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province erupted on Wednesday, spewing a column of ash up to 5 km high and prompting the highest aviation alert, the country's Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center said.
Standing at 1,584 metres, Mount Lewotobi is one of Indonesia's 127 active volcanoes. Indonesia is an archipelago of 270 million people with frequent seismic activity. It has 120 active volcanos and sits along the 'Ring of Fire', a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
Indonesia sits on the boundary of several major tectonic plates: the Eurasian, Australian, and Pacific plates and has experienced some of the world's deadliest and most powerful eruptions, such as the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815, further highlighting the country's vulnerability to volcanic hazards.