Two volcanoes have erupted and spread hot dust and ash over neighbouring villages in different parts of Indonesia.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores Island in the south and Mount Soputan in northern Sulawesi erupted yesterday.
The 1,584-metre Lewotobi, which last erupted in 1990, spewed hot dust and ash over a radius of eight miles and burned underbrush on its slopesp>There were no immediate reports of casualties, but radio reports said hot dust from the volcanoes had damaged crops on the mountainsides. The reports quoted local officials as saying they were preparing to evacuate villagers.
The 5,849-foot-high Mount Soputan last erupted in mid-July, spewing lava and clouds of dust high into the air that fell on the provincial capital Manado, around 25 miles to the north. The city is about 1,350 miles northeast of Jakarta.
The two are among at least 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago nation, which is on the "Ring of Fire" - a series of volcanoes and fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.