Mount Ili Lewotolok in Indonesia erupted sending ash and smoke as high as 4000 m (2.5 miles) up into the air. The volcano eruption forced the evacuation of thousands of people, as stated by the country’s Disaster Mitigation Agency.

Disaster Management Agency representative Raditya Jati said that almost 2,800 people from atleast 28 towns were cleared from the inclines of Mount Ili Lewotolok, which is situated on Lembata island of East Nusa Tenggara territory, as the dangerous streams of liquid magma started ejecting and flowing downwards.

As per the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), USA, there are around 20 volcanoes effectively erupting each day. According to the Weekly volcanic action report prepared by the Smithsonian and US Geological Survey’s (USGS) Volcano Hazards program, for the week ending August 4, 2020, there are 19 volcanoes all over the world with active emissions and continuous geological activity. According to USGS, there are around 1,500 possibly active volcanoes around the world.

A previous eruptive phase of the volcano started in September 2013 in Indonesia, which continued uninterrupted until June 2018, as per data of the National Museum of Natural History’s Global Volcanism Program. During the 2018 eruption, the volcano had released ash 5-7 km into the air, covering many towns.

In Mount Illi “Muhammad Ilhan”, a 17-year-old who saw the eruption, told Reuters that local residents were “panicked and they are still looking for refuge and in need of money right now.” Despite the panic among locals, there were no reports of deaths or injuries following the eruption.

The local airport closed as ash continued to spread across parts of the island. The Transportation Ministry also issued a flight warning for the region. Mount Ili Lewotolok has been erupting off and on since October 2017. In late 2018, a volcano in the strait between Java and Sumatra islands had erupted, causing an underwater landslide that had unleashed a tsunami that had subsequently killed more than 400 people.

The Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Centre of Indonesia raised the Volcano’s alarm level to the second-most significant level after sensors got escalating action. Utilization of masks also has been suggested to protect the eyes and skin from the dangerous impacts of the ash. The centre additionally cautioned the locals to remain 4 Km away from the volcanic hole as the territory was likely immersed with “hot mists, magma stream, magma torrential slide, and harmful gas.”

The 5,423 meter Mount Ili Lewotolok is the third volcano to erupt lately following the Merapi volcano eruption in the island of Java and the eruption of Sinabung volcano in Sumatra.

The characteristics of Indonesian volcanoes are tantalizing in terms of the formation processes, eruption phenomena, and generated impacts. Usually, the types of volcanoes are represented by stratovolcanoes. They were shaped as results of subduction of the earth crust in subduction zones, but this does not mean that the resulting eruption is always explosive and in long periods.

Indonesia has 400 volcanoes over its 17,000 islands. There are 129 active volcanoes, of which nearly 65 have been deemed dangerous. The archipelago nation lies on the “Ring of Fire”, a series of volcanoes and fault lines along the rim of the Pacific Ocean.