Red alert in Indonesia: impressive 32,000 ft ash column from Lewotobi volcano surprises everyone
A volcanic eruption in Indonesia has caused travel chaos as alert levels are raised.
Alert levels were raised to maximum after a colossal eruption of Indonesia’s Lewotobi volcano grounded flights and sent residents scrambling amid fears of widespread destruction.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, which stands prominently on the island of Flores, erupted at 17:35 local time on Tuesday, spewing an astonishing ash plume more than 6.8 miles (11 kilometres) into the sky, according to the country’s volcanology agency.
All activities within a 4.3-mile (7-kilometre) radius of the volcano were immediately suspended. Thousands of flights to and from the region werecancelled, with Air India, Air New Zealand, Jetstar, Juneyao Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and Virgin Australia among the carriers halting service to Bali, located west of Flores.
More than 20 flights to and from Indonesia's resort island of Bali were cancelled or delayed due to the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki.
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) June 18, 2025
The volcano that is located in south-central Indonesia erupted on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/UNeRcvkpcA
Travel chaos ensues as volcano halts flights
“Due to volcanic activity at Lewotobi Laki-Laki in East Nusa Tenggara, several flights at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport have been cancelled,” airport operator Angkasa Pura Indonesia said in a statement to AFP. Qantas subsidiary Jetstar wrote that “forecasts show the ash cloud is expected to clear by later tonight.”
According to the BBC, the country’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency reported that “at least one village had been evacuated,” while ashfall was observed in several others outside the exclusion zone. The AP added that a towering column of thick grey ash, reaching 10,000 meters (about 32,800 feet), was visible from up to 90 miles away.
As of the time of writing, no casualties have been reported, although concerns remain that heavy rainfall could trigger dangerous lava flows.
The volcano — part of a twin formation with Mount Lewotobi Perempuan in Flores Timur district — is highly active. It previously erupted in November, killing nine people and injuring dozens, and again in March this year.
BREAKING: Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in Indonesia has erupted 🌋
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) June 17, 2025
"There was an eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, at 17:35 WITA with an observed ash column height of ± 10,000 m above the peak (± 11,584 m above sea level)," said the Volcano Observation… pic.twitter.com/lpWZnHQwk1
Indonesia is an archipelago with a population of 270 million people that sits on ‘The Ring of Fire’, a region famous for frequent seismic activity that is home to some 120 active volcanoes.
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