5,300 people remain displaced after last year's volcano eruptions in Indonesia

More than 5,300 residents of Indonesia's East Flores Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, remain displaced following the massive eruptions of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in November last year, as the volcano continues to exhibit heightened activity.

According to the East Flores Disaster Mitigation Agency, or BPBD, 2,186 evacuees are sheltered in four temporary camps in Titehena district, some 25 kilometers from the mountain.

The remaining 3,118 evacuees are staying with relatives in various areas across East Flores.

Avelina Manggota Hallan, head of East Flores BPBD emergency and logistics division, said that all the evacuees come from six villages situated 4 to 5 km from the volcano's crater: Nobo, Dulipali, Klantanlo, Nawokote, Hokeng Jaya and Boru.

"These villages fall within the dangerous exclusion zone and are at risk of being affected by a potential eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki," she said.

Avelina added that around 200 displaced residents were relocated to temporary housing in Konga village, also in Titehena district, in January. The remaining evacuees will also be moved to transitional housing once the second phase of construction is completed.

The disaster mitigation authorities of Indonesia plan to build approximately 440 temporary homes for about 2,000 families displaced by Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki's eruptions last year.

The first phase of construction, which included about 200 temporary houses, was completed on Jan 23. Each shelter is designed to accommodate five families and is equipped with showers, toilets, electricity, and a communal kitchen.

Acting East Flores Regent Sulastri H I Rasyid stated on Feb 19 that the remaining temporary housing is expected to be finished within the next one to two months.

The central government is currently building around 2,700 permanent homes for residents affected by the Lewotobi Laki-Laki eruptions, with plans to complete the construction by April.

At least 10 people died after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted near midnight on Nov 3. Fiery lava and rocks struck nearby settlements about 4 km from the crater, burning homes and causing significant damage.

Images shared by authorities showed that the evening sky over the volcano turned red because of the eruption. Footage showed some wooden houses on fire and mask-wearing residents being rescued as thick volcanic ash covered roads and buildings.

Authorities established a 7 km exclusion zone around the crater and expanded it to 9 km just days later for safety reasons.

The November eruption forced more than 13,000 people to evacuate to temporary shelters.

Following a period of relatively low activity, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki has seen a significant increase in volcanic earthquakes over the past week.

The heightened volcanic activity led authorities to once again increase the alert level to the highest of a four-tiered system on Feb 12.

Officials also expanded the exclusion zone from 5 to 6 km and warned the public about a heightened risk of lahars — a dangerous flow of mud and debris from the volcano.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki observation post head Herman Yosef S Mboro reported that on Feb 19, the volcano experienced three burst tremors and two distant tectonic earthquakes from midnight to 6 am.

"We also observed weakly pressured crater smoke, white in color, with moderate to thick intensity, rising 100 to 200 meters above the crater summit," he said.

The East Flores administration declared a state of emergency on Feb 13, which will remain in effect for the next six months.

The Jakarta Post, Indonesia