Jakarta. Mount Barujari volcano in East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, erupted on Tuesday (27/09) at 2.45 p.m., spewing volcanic ash up to 2,000 meters above its crater, National Disaster Mitigation Agency BPNB said.

Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement the BPNB had detected increasing seismic activities before the volcano erupted, with tremors recorded at up to 5.2 magnitude.

The volcanic ash from Mount Barujari, which rises up off a caldera on the older Mount Rinjani, surged 2,000 meters into the air on Tuesday before strong winds subsequently blowing most of it to the southwest.

"Local residents should remain cautious. The volcanic ash will soon reach [Lombok's biggest city] Mataram and may very well disrupt flights at the Lombok International Airport," Sutopo said on Tuesday.

He said BPNB has instructed the local disaster mitigation agency to give out more than 300,000 face masks to local residents to be worn when volcanic ash starts to rain down in Lombok.

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