The Lewotobi volcano in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province erupted violently on the 17th, with an ash column reaching 11 kilometers high.
The Indonesian Volcano and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center has raised the alert level of the volcano to the highest level and warned that strong rainfall in future could trigger lava flows. Residents of at least one village have been forced to evacuate.
Authorities are urging the public to remain vigilant and refrain from conducting any activities within a 7-kilometer radius of the crater.
The Bali International Airport website indicated on the 18th that at least over twenty flights to and from the resort island were canceled.
According to the airport website, the canceled flights include Jetstar Airways and Virgin Australia flights to various Australian cities. Air India, Air New Zealand, Tigerair Singapore, and China’s Juneyao Air also canceled flights “due to the volcanic eruption.”
Several domestic flights by AirAsia to Labuan Bajo on Flores Island were also canceled.
This eruption is the third major volcanic activity of the Lewotobi volcano in the past three months. The eruption in May this year also prompted authorities to raise the alert level, and the eruption in March led to Jetstar Airways and Qantas canceling or delaying several flights to Bali.
Footage released by the Indonesian volcanic agency shows an orange mushroom-shaped cloud of ash rising and quickly enveloping nearby villages.
Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, prone to volcanic and seismic activities, and has over 120 active volcanoes nationwide.