Jakarta, Indonesia-The Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano in the center-south of Indonesia exploded three times until Friday, sending a column of ashes 8,000 meters (26,200 feet) high and inciting the authorities to expand the danger zone around the volcano.
The volcano on the remote island of Flores in the east of the province of Nusa Tenggara has had hundreds of earthquakes and visible volcanic activity has increased significantly in the last seven days.
An eruption followed by an explosion was heard on Thursday night as Larantuka and Maumere, two cities about 50 kilometers (31 miles) at 85 kilometers (53 miles) from the volcano. The eruption was recorded in several monitoring stations on the island of Flores, the head of the Indonesian Geology Agency said in a statement.
There were two other rashes, and there were a smaller activity on Friday. The smoke blew around the crater with weak to moderate pressure, and the fire light was observed in the peak, indicating that the bright volcanic material was at a shallow depth.
The authorities raised the eruption alert at the highest level and expanded the danger zone of 7 kilometers (4.5 miles) at 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the crater. No new evacuations were ordered.
Several airlines canceled flights between Australia and the tourist island of Indonesia, Bali, while other international and national flights to the island have been delayed.
Residents were warned that they were attentive to heavy rains that trigger lava flows in rivers originated from the volcano, the Indonesian geology agency said in a statement.
An eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki in November killed nine people and wounded dozens.
The mountain of 1,584 meters (5,197 feet) is a twin volcano with the Perempuan del Monte Lewotobi in the district of Flores Timur.
Indonesia is an archipelago of 270 million people with frequent seismic activity. It has 120 active volcanoes and sits along the “Fire Ring”, a series of horseshoe -shaped seismic failures that surround the Pacific basin.
