Indonesia to evacuate 16,000 people after Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki eruption

JAKARTA (Reuters) - The Indonesian government aims to evacuate at least 16,000 residents from villages around the active Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano that erupted and killed nine people and damaged thousands of houses, an official said on Tuesday.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, located on Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara province, erupted on Sunday night, followed by a smaller eruption on Monday night, and remains on Indonesia's highest volcanic alert status.

Evacuations were being hampered by thick volcanic ash on some roads, an official said.

As of Tuesday morning, about 2,472 of the 16,086 residents from eight villages had been evacuated, Heronimus Lamawuran, spokesperson of East Flores regional government told Reuters.

"We plan to temporarily evacuate the residents until it's safe for them to return to their villages," he said.

The residents were taken to three school buildings and temporary shelters at other villages around 20 km (12 miles) from the crater, Heronimus added.

"We deployed more trucks along with military and police personnel to help evacuations on Tuesday," he said.

Authorities have revised the death toll down to nine from 10, with 63 injured and about 2,384 houses and at least 25 schools were damaged.

The local government has declared a state of emergency for the next 58 days, meaning the central government could help provide aid to the residents. Four small airports in Flores Island have been closed due to the eruption.

Indonesia straddles the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire," an area of high seismic activity where multiple tectonic plates meet.

(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Editing by Michael Perry)