Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano erupted early on Sunday, sending volcanic ash across parts of western Indonesia and forcing the temporary suspension of all flights at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. There were no reports of casualties and no evacuation order was issued, but authorities warned people to stay away from the crater.
The disruption hit the country’s busiest airport, affecting 209 flight movements and about 22,800 passengers. Flights on the busy domestic route to Makassar in South Sulawesi were among those affected, while Singapore had the highest number of disrupted international services.
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Indonesia’s Geological Agency said the volcanic island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra had shown signs of activity since Friday before erupting for 30 seconds at 3.53 am on Sunday. The agency’s closed-circuit camera recorded lava flares at the mountain. The nearest settlement is more than 16 km away, but residents and visitors were told to remain at least 3 km from the active crater.
Indonesia’s Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said volcanic ash spread across parts of Jakarta and Lampung province at the southern tip of Sumatra. In an early Sunday travel advisory, the airport said, “Due to increased activity from the Mount Anak Krakatau eruption, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has temporarily suspended flight operations from 5:30 a.m. to 9.30 a.m.” Passengers sought refunds and reclaimed checked baggage as departure boards showed a growing list of cancelled flights.
Indonesia’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said it was closely monitoring the impact on air travel and was coordinating with airlines, airport operators, air navigation services and the meteorology agency. It said 170 aircraft parked overnight at Soekarno-Hatta remained on airport aprons. Other international services affected by cancellations, delays and rescheduling included flights to Hong Kong, Sydney, Amsterdam, Seoul, Doha and Kuala Lumpur, while domestic flights to Lampung, Bali and Surabaya were also cancelled or diverted.
“Safety remains our top priority in every operational decision,” Lukman F. Laisa, the Ministry of Transportation’s director general of civil aviation, said in a statement. He warned that flight schedules could face cascading disruptions affecting aircraft rotations, fleet availability and terminal capacity as airlines worked to restore operations. Authorities urged travellers to check with airlines for the latest information and advised passengers to avoid the airport unless necessary.
Indonesia’s volcanology agency and the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Australia identified two ash clouds through satellite imagery. One plume rose to 20,000 feet and drifted northeast, affecting parts of Jakarta, Banten, West Java and surrounding waters. A second reached 50,000 feet and moved westward and northwestward over parts of Banten, Lampung and Bengkulu, the southern Sunda Strait and sections of the Indian Ocean west of Sumatra.
Anak Krakatau, or “child of Krakatau”, is linked to the famed Krakatau, whose 1883 eruption triggered a period of global cooling. In 2018, the volcano’s eruption caused a tsunami that killed at least 430 people in Sumatra and Java after volcanic activity is believed to have triggered an underwater landslide and the collapse of part of the volcano’s southwest slope. The volcano remains at the second-highest alert level on a four-point scale, and scientists say the island is now only about a quarter of its original size.
In sum, the brief eruption disrupted flights, spread ash across parts of western Indonesia and prompted fresh safety warnings, even as authorities reported no casualties and no evacuation.
With PTI Inputs
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
