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

Mount Lewotobi Eruption, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. Credit: CNN Indonesia

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.

Flores Island. Credit: Researchgate.net

Mount Lewotobi, Flores Island, Indonesia. Credit: Kompas

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.