SURABAYA,
Indonesia — Volcanic ash from a major eruption in Indonesia shrouded a
large swath of the country's most densely populated island on Friday and
closed three nearby international airports.
Local
media reported two people were killed when parts of their homes
collapsed after Mount Kelud's explosive eruption overnight. The initial
blasts sent millions of cubic meters (feet) of dust and rocks into the
atmosphere, according to the country's disaster agency, and could be
heard up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) away.
Ash
up to an inch (2.5 centimeters) deep covered Surabaya, the country's
second-largest city, and even farther afield in Jogyakarta, where
motorists switched on headlights in daylight. TV footage from towns
closer to the peak showed cattle covered in ash.
Transport
Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said Jogyakarta, Solo and Surabaya
airports were closed due to reduced visibility and the dangers posed to
aircraft engines by ash. Virgin Australia said it had cancelled all its
Friday flights to Bali, Phuket, Christmas Island and Cocos Island
because of the eruption.
The
country's disaster agency said tremors were still wracking the volcano,
but scientists didn't expect another major eruption. It said many of
the 200,000 people living within 10 kilometers (6 miles) of Kelud who
had evacuated returned to their homes to begin cleaning up.
The
1,731-meter (5,680-feet) Kelud in the east Java, home to more than a
half of Indonesia's 240 million people, has been rumbling for several
weeks and was under close observation.
Muhammad
Hendrasto, head of the country's volcano monitoring agency, said the
mountain erupted violently about 90 minutes after authorities raised its
alert status to the highest level.
Kelud
is among about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The archipelagic
nation is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes because of its
location on the so-called "Ring of Fire" — a series of fault lines
stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.
Due
to the fertile volcanic soil and the shortage of space on Java,
hundreds of thousands of people live close to active volcanos. They are
used to the rumblings, but their proximity to the peaks presents
difficulties for authorities.
The
last major eruption at Kelud was in 1990, when it kicked out searing
fumes and lava that killed more than 30 people and injured hundreds. In
1919, a powerful explosion that reportedly could be heard hundreds of
miles (kilometers) away killed at least 5,160.
Earlier
this month, Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra province erupted as
authorities were allowing thousands of villagers who had been evacuated
to return to its slopes, killing 16 people. Sinabung has been erupting
for four months, forcing the evacuation of more than 30,000 people.
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