MAUMERE, Indonesia — Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki On Thursday, it released columns of ash that rose into the air in a much larger explosion than the explosion that killed nine people and injured dozens. three days ago.

Local disaster agency official Kensius Didimus said no casualties were reported in the latest eruption as residents living in the danger zone, which spans a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) radius from the crater, were evacuated to other villages.

The 1,584-meter (5,197-foot) volcano on the remote island of Flores spewed columns of ash 11 times on Thursday, its president Hadi Wijaya said, with the latest and largest rising to 8,000 meters (26,240 feet, about 5 miles high). Dr. from the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center.

The volcano has shown less activity since then Monday’s deadly explosion He killed nine people and injured 64 people.

Monday’s explosion affected more than 10,000 people in 10 villages. About 6,000 villagers were moved to temporary emergency shelters after the explosion destroyed seven schools, nearly two dozen houses and a monastery on the mostly Catholic island.

Volcanic materials, including smoldering rocks, lava and thumb-sized chunks of hot gravel and ash, were ejected 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) from the crater on Monday.

While visiting devastated areas, officials found craters up to 13 meters (43 feet) wide and 5 meters (16 feet) deep, where rocks had fallen during the explosions, in many places, including a destroyed school.

“It shows a difference in characteristics compared to the previous eruption in January,” said Wijaya, head of the volcanology center. He added that the earlier eruption had released volcanic materials mostly around the summit, followed by lava flows.

“We are still analyzing the change in the eruption character of Lewotobi, which will be used by the government to determine a safe relocation area for residents,” Wijaya said.

He said his agency had asked the local government of East Nusa Tenggara province to close the only road connecting the island’s largest city, Maumere, to the neighboring province of Larantuka, because it passes through the volcano’s danger zone.

of the country volcano The watchdog raised Lewotobi Laki Laki’s alert status to the highest level on Monday, more than doubling the exclusion zone to a 7-kilometer (4.3-mile) radius and banning all activities in that area.

Suharyanto, head of the National Disaster Management Agency, who like many Indonesians uses a single name, said authorities had warned thousands of people who had fled not to return to their homes as the government planned to remove about 16,000 residents from the danger zone.

“Permanent relocation is being considered as a long-term mitigation measure to anticipate future eruption,” Suharyanto told reporters after visiting the devastated areas on Thursday.

He said residents of the worst-hit villages would be relocated within the next six months and compensation of 500,000 rupiah ($32) a month would be paid to each family waiting for a new home.

Approximately 6,500 people were evacuated in January Following Mount Lewotobi, Laki Laki began erupting, spewing thick clouds and forcing the government to close the island’s Franciskus Xaverius Seda Airport. No casualties or major damage were reported, but the airport remained closed due to seismic activity.

Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of a pair of stratovolcanoes in the East Flores region of East Nusa Tenggara province, known locally as the husband-wife mountains. “Laki laki” means man while his wife is Lewotobi Perempuan or woman.

The vulcanology center also said Mount Marapi in West Sumatra province, one of the country’s most active volcanoes, erupted again on Thursday, spewing thick columns of ash at least three times and covering nearby villages with debris. There was no loss of life.

Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, an archipelago with a population of 280 million. The country is prone to earthquakes, landslides and volcanic activity because it lies along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.

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Karmini reported from Jakarta. Associated Press journalists Edna Tarigan and Andi Jatmiko contributed to this report.