Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano erupts, prompting alert highest level to be raised

Jakarta, Mar 21: The Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano in south-central Indonesia erupted three times on Friday, sending an ash column 8,000 metres (26,200 feet) high and prompting authorities to expand the danger zone around the volcano. Information on evacuations was not immediately available.

The volcano on the remote island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province has had hundreds of earthquakes and visible volcanic activity has significantly increased in the last seven days.

Authorities raised the eruption alert to the highest level and expanded the danger zone from 7 kilometres (4.5 miles) to 8 kilometres (5 miles) from the crater.

Several airlines cancelled flights between Australia and Indonesia's tourist island of Bali due to the eruption, while other international and domestic flights to the island have been delayed.

Residents were warned to be vigilant about heavy rainfall triggering lava flows in rivers originating from the volcano, Indonesia's geology agency said in a statement.

An eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki in November killed nine people and injured dozens.

The 1,584-metre (5,197 foot) mountain is a twin volcano with Mount Lewotobi Perempuan in the Flores Timur district.

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.