East Flores Counts Five Disaster Emergencies Early in 2026

Flores Timur — East Flores district authorities have recorded five disaster emergency statuses in place during the early part of 2026, covering volcanic activity, extreme weather, cold lava flooding, social conflict and an earthquake, according to local officials.

Ariston Tokan, executive head of the East Flores Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), outlined the situation in comments reported by public broadcaster RRI on 10 September 2026. He said the five emergencies illustrate the district’s high disaster risk and the need to strengthen preparedness among residents and government institutions, according to RRI.

Earlier in the year, district head Antonius Doni Dihen also described East Flores as facing a “complex situation” with five ongoing emergency or response statuses, including an eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, cold lava floods, extreme weather, social conflict and an earthquake, according to coverage by Detik and regional media. The statuses, declared through separate regent decrees, remained active as of April 2026.

Five concurrent emergencies

According to RRI’s report from Flores Timur, BPBD logged at least five disaster emergency determinations in the district during the early months of 2026. The agency’s list includes:

• Volcanic eruption linked to Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki
• Extreme weather, including heavy rain and strong winds
• Cold lava flooding (lahar dingin) associated with volcanic material moving through river channels
• Social conflict and related public-order disturbances
• Earthquake impacts in parts of East Flores

Detik’s reporting on disaster status in East Flores in April 2026 similarly listed five active “tanggap darurat” (emergency response) statuses covering the same hazard categories. In that account, the regent said all five statuses were “still on” and had not yet been revoked, underscoring how multiple disasters and social disturbances were being managed at the same time.

Separate coverage by national outlets and local media during 2025–2026 documents the individual declarations behind these categories. The district set a prolonged emergency status for extreme weather beginning in December 2025 and extended into April 2026. It declared emergency response status for an earthquake in April 2026, following damage to homes and public facilities, and maintained disaster response arrangements for Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki’s eruptions and subsequent cold lava flooding. Social conflict was treated within the same emergency framework.

Risk profile and preparedness debate

In RRI’s account, Ariston Tokan argued that the clustering of different types of disaster emergencies shows East Flores is highly prone to both natural and human-caused hazards. He urged communities to understand the specific risks in their villages and to be familiar with early warning messages and evacuation procedures.

Regional reporting on East Flores has repeatedly highlighted volcanic risk from Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, hydrometeorological impacts from extreme rainfall and winds, and the strain on local infrastructure from repeated hazard events. Academic work on BPBD’s role during Mount Lewotobi eruptions has noted the importance of pre-disaster planning, rapid emergency action and recovery programmes in a district where hazard exposure is high.

Officials and disaster managers quoted in these reports say improved preparedness should become part of daily life in the district. They frame preparedness not as a prediction that disasters will occur on a specific timetable, but as a practical response to a risk environment in which multiple emergency statuses can be active at once.

Sources

• RRI
• Detik