A powerful eruption at Mount Lewotobi in Indonesia forces mass evacuations and halts flights across Southeast Asia, including major disruptions in Bali.
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| Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi erupts violently, blanketing villages in ash and grounding international flights, with evacuations underway in multiple districts. Image: Collected |
Jakarta, Indonesia – June 18, 2025:
Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki, located in Indonesia’s Flores Timur district, erupted violently this week, prompting mass evacuations and widespread disruptions to international air traffic, including major flight cancellations at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport.
Beginning late Tuesday and continuing into Wednesday, the volcano produced several powerful eruptions. One eruption shot ash plumes 10,000 meters (32,800 feet) into the atmosphere, forming a massive mushroom-shaped cloud visible nearly 150 kilometers (93 miles) away. Subsequent eruptions created columns as high as 5,000 meters (16,400 feet).
In response, Indonesian authorities raised the alert level to its maximum on Tuesday and expanded the exclusion zone to an 8-kilometer (5-mile) radius around the crater. Volcanic debris forced the evacuation of personnel from a monitoring station situated just 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) from the summit. No injuries or fatalities have been reported.
Ashfall reached well beyond the exclusion zone, affecting the villages of Boru, Hewa, and Watobuku. Residents of Nurabelen in the Ile Bura subdistrict were relocated to safer locations such as Konga and Nileknoheng, 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) from the volcano, according to Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency.
The eruption paralyzed regional air travel. Dozens of flights were grounded on Wednesday, including routes at Bali’s international airport, which suspended services to and from Australia, Malaysia, India, and China. Operations at Labuan Bajo Airport on Flores Island were also affected, although it remains open.
Jetstar Airways canceled several flights but said services would resume once ash conditions improve. Air New Zealand grounded a round-trip flight to Auckland. Additional cancellations affected routes to New Delhi, Singapore, and Shanghai Pudong, Bali airport officials confirmed.
Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki, rising 1,584 meters (5,197 feet), is part of a twin volcanic complex with Mount Lewotobi Perempuan. The volcano has seen heightened activity in recent months; a prior eruption in November 2024 killed nine people and left many injured.
Indonesia, situated on the volatile Pacific “Ring of Fire,” is home to roughly 120 active volcanoes, making it one of the most seismically active countries on Earth. The archipelago, with a population exceeding 270 million, regularly faces threats from volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
Authorities are continuing to monitor Mount Lewotobi closely, warning that further eruptions remain possible in the coming days. Emergency shelters and aid stations have been set up across the region as residents brace for potential aftershocks or renewed volcanic activity.