The Indonesian government decided to permanently relocate thousands of residents of East Nusa Tenggara province after an outburst of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano that took the lives of at least ten people and destroyed thousands of houses.
As reported by Reuters, the deadly explosion erupted on Sunday night, November 3, 2024, followed by smaller eruptions on Monday and Tuesday, and remained in the highest volcanic alert position.
Head of Indonesia’s disaster agency, Suharyanto, said in a statement on Wednesday, November 6, that the permanent relocation is said to be a "long-term mitigation measure" to forecast similar eruptions in the future.
Suharyanto also discussed that the government aimed to relocate all the citizens living across seven km from the crater.
The government will build houses for the evacuated residents, he added.
Moreover, there are more than 16,000 residents located in the nearest village to the deadly volcano. The government is calculating how many citizens need to be permanently shifted.
Heronimus Lamawuran, the spokesperson of East Flores regional government said that at least 2,500 residents have been evacuated on Wednesday, November 6.
To note, the government has issued an alert for the next 57 days and banned any activity within seven km of the crater.
On the other hand, Indonesia’s volcanology agency issued an alert for another volcano located in the province, 200 km from Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki.
