Mount Ili Lewotolok Erupts, Spewing a 600-Meter Ash Column Over Lembata

RRI.CO.ID, Kupang - Mount Ili Lewotolok, an active volcano in Lembata Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, erupted on Monday at 10:17 a.m. local time. The eruption sent a thick ash column rising about 600 meters above the peak, prompting fresh safety warnings for nearby communities.

Volcanologists observed the gray ash cloud drifting westward. The Center for Volcanology and Geological Mitigation (PVMBG) reported the plume’s altitude at around 2,023 meters above sea level.

Yeremias Kristianto Pugel, an official at the Mount Ili Lewotolok Observation Post, detailed the seismic activity in a report received in Kupang. “The ash column was gray with thick intensity leaning west,” he said Monday, June 22, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

The eruption was recorded on the local seismogram with a maximum amplitude of 40 millimeters and a duration of one minute and 16 seconds.

Despite the sudden activity, authorities have maintained the volcano’s status at Level II (Alert).

PVMBG has advised residents, climbers, and tourists to avoid all activity within a two‑kilometer radius of the active crater. Officials also warned of secondary hazards, including lava avalanches, landslides, and pyroclastic flows in the southern, southeastern, western, and northeastern sectors.

To reduce health risks from volcanic ash, nearby communities are urged to wear masks, use eye and skin protection, and cover clean water reservoirs to prevent contamination.

Local administrations and villages have been asked to maintain close contact with the Mount Ili Lewotolok Observation Post in Laranwutun Village, Ile Ape Subdistrict, and PVMBG’s central network. Updates on volcanic activity are available through the Magma Indonesia platform.

The latest eruption prior to June 22 occurred between June 11–17, 2026, when PVMBG reported continuous ash and gas emissions rising 100–200 meters above the summit almost daily. That activity lasted for about a week, with faint rumbling recorded at the observation post. ***