MOUNT KELUD ERUPTS, FORCING SCHOOL, AIRPORT CLOSURES by Fardah

     Jakarta, Feb 14 , 2014 (Antara) - The eruption of Mt Kelud on Thursday (Feb. 13), forced around 200 thousand people to flee, forcing closures of airports and schools in several cities in Indonesia's most densely populated island of Java.

         The major explosive eruption of the 1,731-meter volcano could be heard in Solo (Central Java) and Yogyakarta, which lie around 200 km away.  Mount Kelud, located at the border of Blitar and Kediri districts, East Java Province, erupted at 10.50 pm local time. It spewed gravel and ash reaching up to West Nusa Tenggara and West Java provinces, which are hundreds of kilometers away.

         Mount Kelud's last major eruption was in 1990, when it spewed ash and lava that killed more than 30 people and injured hundreds. In 1919, the volcano's powerful explosion reportedly could be heard hundreds of kilometers away and claimed at least 5,160 lives.

         After Mount Kelud's eruption on Thursday evening, two people were killed when parts of their homes collapsed in Pandangsari village in Malang district.

         Kelud spewed millions of cubic meters of volcanic material, such as ash and gravel, up to a height of 17 km.

         The explosive eruption affected 35 villages within a radius of 10 km from the mountain's summit. These villages are located in nine sub-districts across three districts: Blitar, Kediri and Malang.

          A total of 201,228 people, or 58,341 families, were forced to evacuate when the eruption occurred.

           The national meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency (BMKG) confirmed that the volcanic ash and gravel had mostly been directed towards the west, affecting a number of cities, such as Pacitan, Ponorogo, Wonogiri, Bantul, Yogyakarta, Sleman, Kulon Progo, Purworejo, Kebumen, Solo, Boyolali, Salatiga, and Temanggung.

          Meanwhile, volcanic material that scattered toward the east, affected Malang, Surabaya, Banyuwangi, Ampenan (West Nusa Tenggara), and several others.

         It is estimated that Mount Kelud will spew a total of 200 million cubic meters of volcanic ash during the eruption, the head of the Yogyakarta Geological Disaster Technology Development and Research claimed in Yogyakarta on Friday.

         Because of the volcanic ash, schools in Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Wonosobo and Blitar have been forced shut.

         The volcanic ash that has enveloped Surabaya may prove hazardous to health, the Surabaya education service head, M Ikshan, stated on Friday.

         All schools in Surabaya are closed and students are advised to stay indoors, he added. 
    In Wonosobo, Central Java, Wonosobo District Head Kholiq Arief also ordered the closure of schools as the district was blanketed by volcanic ash.

         "We have instructed the sub-districts, the local education service heads, and school principals to close the schools because the volcanic ash has affected Wonosobo. This decision is effective until the condition gets better," he clarified.

         The visibility in Palur, Karanganyar District, Central Java, decreased to around 100 meters. People were wearing face masks and carrying umbrellas while leaving their homes as the ash rain was quite heavy.

          In Surakarta, also Central Java, all schools are also closed due to the volcanic ash rain, according to Surakarta Mayor F.X. Hadi Rudyatmo.

           "I have instructed the closure of all schools in Solo to prevent students from developing health problem due to the ash rain," he pointed out.

         Head of the Yogyakarta Education Office Kadarmanta Baskara Aji in Yogyakarta announced on Friday that all schools, from elementary to senior high schools, have been closed because of the ash rain.

         "The closure is indefinite, until the condition is better," he clarified.

         Hundreds of flights from and bound to Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Malang, and Semarang were cancelled due to the ash rains.

         At Ngurah Rai airport in Bali, for instance, at least 43 domestic flight schedules were disrupted due to the temporary closure of the three international airports on Java Island.

          "According to the notice to the airman, Juanda airport in Surabaya, Adi Sutjipto in Yogyakarta and Adi Soemarno in Solo have all been closed," Co-General Manager of Bali's airport operator Angkasa Pura, I Gusti Ngurah Ardita, stated in Denpasar, Bali on Friday.

         Hundreds of passengers crowded the Ngurah Rai airport due to the cancellation of flights.

         The Indonesian transportation ministry announced that three international airports, Djuanda in Surabaya (East Java), Adi Sucipto in Yogyakarta, and Adi Soemarmo in Solo (Central Java), were closed on Friday due to the rain of volcanic ash.

         Besides this, Ahmad Yani Airport in Semarang, central Java, and Abdul Saleh Airport in Malang, were also shut down later on.

        "We have decided to close the airport because the volcanic ash is dangerous [when it affects] the planes' engines," Priyo Jatmiko, the general manager of the PT Angkasa Pura I chapter in Semarang's airport explained.

       The ash rain also affected tourism in Central Java, as the world's biggest Buddhist temple, Borobudur in Magelang, was closed on Friday.

          The temple's authority decided to close the temple and not allow any tourism activity, after coordinating with the Borobudur Conservation Office, as the Buddhist temple, built in the eight century during the Syailendran Dynasty, has been covered by volcanic ash from Mount Kelud.

          Some visitors who had already been inside the park were not allowed to climb up to the temple. The world's biggest Buddhist temple, Borobudur in Magelang, Central Java, has been closed on Friday due to volcanic ash rain that was spewed from Mount Kelud in Kediri, East Java.

        "I was on my way to Borobudur. The ash was quite thick; visibility range had dipped to around seven meters," the President of PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur, Prambanan, and Ratu Boko Laily Prihatiningtyas stated on Friday.

             As a safety measure, the temple has been kept closed because volcanic ashes have made the temple floors slippery, Head of Borobudur Conservation Office Marsis Sutopo stated on Friday.

        The local authorities have distributed thousands of face masks to the community and warned people to stay indoors because volcanic ash can cause respiratory problems, allergies and eye irritation.

        To coordinate the handling of the volcanic eruption, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono chaired a limited cabinet meeting at the presidential office on Friday morning.

         The meeting was attended, among others, by Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa, Finance Minister Chatib Basri, Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi, Energy and Mineral Resources Minsiter Jero Wacik.

        Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Jero Wacik reminded people living around Mt Kelud to keep adhering to warnings from local governments and other offices concerned in connection with the mountain's eruption on Thursday night.

         "Although the activity has slowed down since morning, I urge them to remain (adhering to warnings). Be patient and do not immediately return. Keep following directives from PVMBG (Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency) and BNPB (National Disaster Mitigation Agency) and do not immediately return home," he said.

          The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) upped the status of Mount Kelud from Advisory (second level) to Watch (third level) on February 10.

           "Following the increase of the volcanic activities on Mount Kelud, its status has been risen, by the Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Center, to Watch," BNBP spokesman Nugroho Sutopo stated.

         He warned mountain climbers, tourists and the public in general not to go to the mountain top.

           The increased volcanic activities have been indicated by, among other things, a number of shallow and deep volcanic quakes as well as high temperature of water in the Mount Kelud's crater.

           Earlier, the East Java regional disaster mitigation agency (BPBD) prepared contingency plans along with the local administration and other concerned parties following the rise of the activity status of Mount Kelud.

          The contingency plans are used as a reference for readiness exercises and for programs to deal with during emergencies.

          Of Indonesia's 130 volcanoes, about 19 have had their statuses upgraded from normal to alert levels as of February 2.

          Mount Sinabung located in Karo district, North Sumatra Province, has been erupting since September 2013, displacing over 30 thousand people across 34 villages.

          The 2.6 thousand meter volcano claimed 16 lives when it spewed clouds of hot and toxic ash, which dispersed across the Sukameriah village, which is located about three kilometers from Sinabung's craters.

        Indonesia has the world's largest number of historically active volcanoes, and at least 76 of them have erupted.  
   The country contains some of the world's most famous volcanoes, such as Krakatau (Krakatoa), Tambora, and Merapi.      
    In 1883, the eruption of Mount Krakatau located off Java's coast, triggered a tsunami that claimed more than 36 thousand lives.

         On Java Island alone, 120 million people live in the shadow of more than 30 volcanoes, a proximity that has proved fatal to more than 140 thousand in the past 500 years, according to the National Geographic. ***3***
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