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Indonesia to Permanently Relocate Thousands of Residents after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki Eruptions

Villagers flee during an eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, a day after the previous eruption, in Boru Village, in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
Villagers flee during an eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, a day after the previous eruption, in Boru Village, in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Indonesia to Permanently Relocate Thousands of Residents after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki Eruptions

Villagers flee during an eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, a day after the previous eruption, in Boru Village, in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
Villagers flee during an eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, a day after the previous eruption, in Boru Village, in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, on November 5, 2024. (AFP)

The Indonesian government plans to permanently relocate thousands of residents after a series of eruptions of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano which killed nine people and damaged thousands of houses, officials said.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, located on Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara province, erupted on Sunday night, followed by smaller eruptions on Monday and Tuesday, and remains on the highest volcanic alert status.

Permanent relocation is considered as "long-term mitigation measures" to anticipate similar eruption in the future, said Suharyanto, the head of Indonesia's disaster agency in a statement on Wednesday.

The government aims to relocate all residents living within seven km (four miles) radius from the crater, he added.

There are more than 16,000 residents living in the nearest villages from the volcano, but the government is still calculating how many residents will be permanently relocated.

As of Wednesday morning, at least 2,500 people had been evacuated, said Heronimus Lamawuran, spokesperson of East Flores regional government.

The government will also build houses for the relocation, said Suharyanto without giving further detail.

"The volcano cannot be moved so it is the people who must move to safer locations," Suharyanto said.

The local government has declared a state of emergency for the next 57 days and prohibited any activity within seven km (four miles) from the crater.

Indonesia's volcanology agency on Tuesday raised the status of another volcano located in East Nusa Tenggara province, around 200 kms (124 miles) from Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki to the second highest level due to its "rising" volcanic activity although no eruption recorded as of Wednesday.

Hadi Wijaya, the spokesperson for the volcanology agency, said the rising activity of Mount Iya had no correlation with eruptions of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki.

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

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Varieties

A Rare Plant Emits a Stink of Death When it Blooms. Thousands in Australia Queued to Get Close to It

People view an endangered plant known as the “corpse flower” for its putrid stink, which is about to bloom at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
People view an endangered plant known as the “corpse flower” for its putrid stink, which is about to bloom at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
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A Rare Plant Emits a Stink of Death When it Blooms. Thousands in Australia Queued to Get Close to It

People view an endangered plant known as the “corpse flower” for its putrid stink, which is about to bloom at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
People view an endangered plant known as the “corpse flower” for its putrid stink, which is about to bloom at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

The rare unfurling of an endangered plant that emits the smell of decaying flesh drew hundreds of devoted fans to a greenhouse in Sydney on Thursday where they lined up to experience a momentous bloom -– and a fragrance evoking gym socks and rotting garbage.
Tall, pointed and smelly, the corpse flower is scientifically known as amorphophallus titanum — or bunga bangkai in Indonesia, where the plants are found in the Sumatran rainforest, The Associated Press said.
But to fans of this specimen, she’s Putricia -- a portmanteau of “putrid” and “Patricia” eagerly adopted by her followers who, naturally, call themselves Putricians. For a week, she has graced a stately and gothic display in front of a purple curtain and wreathed in mist from a humidifier at the Royal Sydney Botanic Garden.
Her rise to fame since has been rapid, with more than 13,000 admirers filing past for a moment in her increasingly pungent presence. No corpse flower has bloomed at the garden for 15 years.
A slow bloomer The plant only flowers every 7-10 years in the wild.
“The fact that they open very rarely, so they flower rarely, is obviously something that puts them at a little bit of a disadvantage in the wild,” said garden spokesperson Sophie Daniel, who designed Putricia's kooky and funereal display. “When they open, they have to hope that another flower is open nearby, because they can’t self-pollinate.”
There are thought to be only 300 of the plants in the wild and fewer than 1,000 worldwide — including those in cultivation. Among them is Putricia, which arrived at the garden seven years ago.
When her flower was spotted in December she was just 25 centimeters (10 inches) high. By Thursday, she was 1.6 meters (5 feet 3 inches) tall -– and her flower spike was slowly opening like a pleated skirt around a majestic central tuber, the yellow-green outer curling to reveal a burgundy center.
Putricia-mania builds As excitement grew in Sydney about the moment of her bloom, garden staff erected crowd barriers, giving the Victorian greenhouse the air of a rock concert. Fans trod a red carpet to view Putricia from behind velvet ropes in a display inspired by Queen Victoria’s funeral, the Rocky Horror Picture Show and the oeuvre of the late director David Lynch.
Inside, fans took selfies and leaned in for a sniff — an increasingly perilous prospect as Putricia's odor developed. One young woman raised her hands and bowed as though in worship. On social media, garden staff performed a viral dance to Chappell Roan’s summer hit HOT TO GO! against a backdrop of the stately plant.
It was difficult to say why the regal, mysterious and stinky flower had attracted such a following -– but perhaps the answer lay in the “reverence” viewers felt in the presence of “such an amazing living being,” Daniel said.
A swift rise to online fame Along with her real-life visitors, Putricia’s online fandom has been rapid, global and deeply strange -– if much less smelly. A 24/7 live stream established by the botanic garden drew close to a million views in less than a week and a shared language of memes and inside jokes sprang up.
Frequently deployed acronyms included WWTF, or we watch the flower, WDNRP -- we do not rush Putricia – and BBTB, or blessed be the bloom. “Putricia is a metaphor for my life,” wrote one poster, who did not elaborate.
Commenters on social media made plans to hurry to the garden as the plant opened. In just 24 hours, Putricia’s bloom -– and her stench -– would be gone.
As she unfurled, Putricia would heat to 37 degrees Celsius (100 F) to better spread her scent, Daniel said, attracting flies and carrion beetles to burrow inside and lay eggs. Then, work will begin to hand-pollinate the plant in efforts to ensure the species' diversity and survival.
But first, thousands of Putricians will attempt to get as close as they can to their hero of a week.
“We did have a few conversations early on about whether or not we should have vomit bags in the room," said Daniel, adding that garden staff ultimately decided against it. “I haven’t heard of anyone actually being harmed."