ALBAWABA - A volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted more than half a dozen times on Thursday, launching a massive ash tower five kilometers into the sky against a backdrop of lightning as surrounding villagers fled in terror.
On Monday and Tuesday, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted, killing nine people and forcing communities to evacuate a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) exclusion zone.
According to an observation station, the largest of the seven explosions recorded by the nation's volcanology service on Thursday belched an ash tower five miles (eight kilometers) high.
Officials have upped the warning level for Flores' twin-peaked volcano to the maximum level. There were no early indications of damage to neighboring towns following Thursday's new eruptions.
Local official Heronimus Lamawuran told Reuters that authorities "have started evacuating residents since this morning to other villages located around 20km (13 miles) from the crater,".
However, an AFP correspondent reported seeing neighbors and youngsters fleeing their homes, as well as volcanic lightning. Locals in a makeshift shelter were concerned when the newest eruptions rumbled on Thursday morning.
Hundreds of people have fled their houses and are seeking refuge in schools, while cashew nut farmers have reported that the massive amounts of ash that have fallen on the region have destroyed their crops.
