EPA
Images show houses burned and damaged by rain of stones
At least 10 people were killed after a volcano erupted in eastern Indonesia in the early hours of Monday, officials said.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, located on Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara province, erupted at 11:57 p.m. local time, according to the Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMG).
Hadi Wijaya, PVMG spokesperson, said flaming lava and rocks hit villages about 4 km from the crater, burning and damaging residents' homes.
According to local authorities, the eruption affected seven villages.
PVMG raised the volcano's status to the highest alert level, warning that a 7 km (four mile) radius around the crater must be cleared.
“We have started evacuating residents since this morning to other villages located about 20 km from the crater,” local official Heronimus Lamawuran told Reuters.
HANDOUT
Flames were seen in a nearby settlement in footage shared with the BBC
Video footage shared with BBC News by eyewitnesses shows people covered in volcanic ash, rock showers and houses on fire, as well as the scorched aftermath of the disturbance.
HANDOUT
Some residents were covered in ashes in footage seen by the BBC
A spokesperson for Indonesia's disaster agency warned of possible flash floods and cold lava flows in the coming days.
They added that the local government had declared a state of emergency for the next 58 days, meaning the central government could help provide aid to 10,000 affected residents.
Indonesia is located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an area of high seismic activity located atop several tectonic plates.
Sunday's eruption follows a series of eruptions in the region. In May, a volcano on the island of Halmahera, Mount Ibu, led to the evacuation of seven villages.
