A volcano has erupted in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara forcing 2,700 residents to move to safety.
The volcano is currently spewing ash and smoke as high as four kilometers into the sky, the country's disaster mitigation agency said.
The erupting volcano has been names as Mt. Ile Lewotolok and is located about 2,600 kilometers from Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.
Raditya Jati, a spokesman for the agency, said in a statement that this had caused panic among those living nearby.
Approximately 2,780 people from 26 villages in the surrounding areas have sought refuge and no casualties have so far been reported, Jati said.
Eye witness Muhammad Ilham, 17, told Reuters that residents nearby were "panicked and they're still looking for refuge and in need of money right now".
On it's website, Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center, said the surrounding areas would likely experience "hot clouds, lava stream, lava avalanche, and poisonous gas".
Kasbani, the head of the center, told Reuters that the status of the volcano was raised to the second-highest level on Indonesia's four-tier alert system due to "increasing threats".
It's reported that there are another three volcanoes that have been given this level, the agency said.
These include the Merapi volcano on the island of Java and Sinabung on Sumatra, which erupted this month.
Although Indonesia has nearly 130 active volcanoes, more than any other country.
Many of these might show high levels of activity it could take weeks or months before there is any activity.
