Mount Lewotobi and the Resilience of Indonesia’s Volcanic Communities
Building Resilience through Generations: How Tradition and Rituals Help Indonesia’s Volcanic Communities Face Nature’s Dual Power
This morning, I read another report about Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on the first page of my newspaper. It erupted again yesterday, November 7, 2024, sending searing rocks and ash over villages and scattering parts of the mountain across more than a seven-kilometer radius.
On eastern Flores Island, in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki (male) and Mount Lewotobi Perempuan (female) stand side by side. Rising to roughly 1,703 meters (Laki-Laki) and 1,704 meters (Perempuan), these twin volcanoes have shaped life on Flores Island through past eruptions.
These twin volcanoes, particularly Laki-Laki, are known for their frequent eruptions over the last century, releasing ash clouds and pyroclastic flows that impacted nearby villages.