1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
LebanonUkraineGerman politics

Mount Lokon

July 15, 2011

Indonesia's Mount Lokon on Sulawesi island has erupted, spewing rocks, lava and volcanic ash as high as 1,500 meters. Panicked residents have fled the agricultural area.

https://p.dw.com/p/RZwS
The glow of lava from Mount Lokon's eruption against the night sky as seen from Manado, North Sulawesi
The glow of lava from Mount Lokon's eruption against the night sky as seen from Manado, North SulawesiImage: dapd

Panicked residents continued to flee the area around Mount Lokon in the north of Sulawesi island on Friday, after the volcano erupted just before midnight on Thursday local time, spewing hot lava and ash as high as 1,500 meters.

"The eruption has set ablaze the forests around the crater," said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency. He said there had been no immediate reports of casualties.

Many have taken refuge in school buildings where the government plans to distribute masks and tents. Evacuation has been advised to some 28,000 people who live within 3.5 kilometers of the crater.

Over 4,000 people have already been evacuated. Mount Lokon last erupted in 1991, killing a Swiss tourist. It is one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes.

Author: Anne Thomas (Reuters, AFP)
Editor: Sarah Berning

Skip next section Explore more

Explore more

Mount Merapi spews gas as seen from Cangkringan village, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Disaster tourism in Indonesia

Disaster tourism in Indonesia

One of the world's most dangerous volcanos, the Indonesian Merapi, attracted international attention last November with its biggest eruption in one hundred years. Now tourists are coming to see the devastated areas. (04.04.2011)
April 4, 2011