Volcano erupts in Indonesia, spews hot ash 10,000m into sky | Watch

A volcano erupted in eastern Indonesia on Tuesday, spewing hot ash to huge heights into the sky. The local authorities raised the alert level to the most dangerous.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a twin-peaked volcano on the tourist island of Flores, erupted at 5.35pm local time (10.35pm GMT), and unleashed a 10,000 metre-high thick mushroom cloud.

“The height of the eruption column was observed at approximately 10,000 metres above the summit. The ash column was observed to be grey with thick intensity,” said Indonesia’s Geology Agency. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The eruption of the 1,584-metre-high volcano could be seen from cities up to 90 miles away.

A user on X posted a video of the huge column of hot ash being spewed from the volcano. His post on X read, “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 ± 10,000 m above the peak (± 11,584 m above sea level),” said the Volcano Observation Post Officer, Yohanes Kolli Sorywutun, in his statement.

Muhammad Wafid, the head of Indonesia’s geology agency, said residents and tourists should avoid travelling within four miles of the volcano’s crater.

He also warned of the possibility of hazardous lahar floods–a type of mud or debris flow of volcanic materials–if heavy rain occurred, which could hit villages close to the mountain.

He also urged residents to wear face masks to protect themselves from volcanic ash.

In November, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted multiple times, killing nine people and forcing thousands to evacuate as molten lava flowed through villages.

It also led to the cancellation of dozens of international flights to Bali.

It is not yet clear whether Tuesday’s eruption will affect flights.

Laki-Laki, which means “man” in Indonesian, is twinned with the calmer but taller 1,703-metre volcano Perempuan, named after the Indonesian word for woman.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation of 270 million people, has 120 active volcanoes, and experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity because of its position along the Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines that encircles most of the Pacific Ocean.

An eruption in March caused flight disruptions and cancellations of flights to Bali.