Indonesia's Anak Krakatau eruption halts flights, schools, fishing

Anak Krakatau, which is roughly halfway between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia's vast island chain, has been erupting since late on Friday, with volcanic ash detected at the airport early on Sunday, the transport ministry said. Passengers stuck at Soekarno-Hatta International.

Ash reached as high as 20,000 feet (6,000 metres) on the Java side of the volcano and 50,000 feet (15,000 metres) on the Sumatra side and some parts of Banten province in Java, meteorological agency BMKG posted on its website.

Ersy Laksita Rini, 55, was upset when she arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International and learned that her 8 am flight to Surabaya had been cancelled. She said the airline had not informed her ahead of time.

"If the eruption happened last night and there were predictions of flight cancellations, we should have been notified from the start," she told. Reuters. "That way, passengers wouldn't have needed to come here so early and could have looked for alternatives instead.

"Read:Hundreds flee homes after Guatemala's Fuego volcano erupts. French national Eloan Tasset, 21, got a text from Batik Air that his flight to his holiday destination of Manado in North Sulawesi had been delayed, but he said it was unclear how long the delay would be.

"If they tell me my flight is cancelled, I think I'm going to try to find a hotel in Jakarta," he said. The airport operator said it was providing food and light refreshments for affected passengers and buses to hotels, in coordination with the airlines.

The disaster mitigation agency BNPB said it would conduct a weather modification operation, which could include cloud-seeding, on Sunday to promote rain. "If it rains heavily enough, the volcanic ash that has been disrupting our daily lives since yesterday and continuing today will be washed away quickly," BNPB chief Suharyanto.

The transport ministry named three other airports across Java — Kertajati, Ahmad Yani and Juanda — as alternatives, "should airlines or operators be able to divert their flights", said Minister Dudy Purwagandhi. Five Indonesian volcanoes at alert level threeBNPB "urges the public to remain calm while increasing vigilance.

In the event of ashfall, people are advised to wear masks and eye protection, reduce outdoor activities, cover water sources and exercise caution when driving, as volcanic ash can reduce visibility," said spokesperson Berton Panjaitan.

Ferries in Sunda Strait were operating normally, the transport ministry said, urging vessels to stay at least 3 km (2 miles) away from Anak Krakatau's crater and remain vigilant for volcanic hazards, including volcanic ash and other ejected materials.

Several schools cancelled activities on Saturday after students and residents suffered eye irritations from the ash, while fishermen cancelled fishing trips, local media outlet. Kompasreported. Police distributed masks to motorists in Cianjur, West Java, some 200 km (130 miles) from Anak Krakatau, the state news agency.

Antarareported, while the disaster management agency reported volcanic ash in the city, urging residents to stay indoors. Some 850 km (530 miles) away from Anak Krakatau, Mount Semeru in East Java also erupted on Sunday, sending an ash column 1 km (3,300 feet) above the summit, said volcano monitoring agency PVMBG.

It advised residents to stay at least 5 km (3 miles) away from the crater and warned of the risk of hot ash clouds and lava flows up to 17 km (10 miles) from the summit. Also Read:Etna ash disrupts Catania flights.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are frequent. Anak Krakatau has been on alert level three, the second-highest, since July 2. Semeru was also on level three, as were three other volcanoes: Merapi, Lewotobi Laki-laki and Sinabung.

The disaster mitigation agency said there was no imminent risk of tsunami from the volcano. A tsunami in 2018 caused by Anak Krakatau eruptions killed more than 400 on Java and Sumatra. Anak Krakatau, which means child of Krakatau, began emerging a century ago from the area previously occupied by Krakatau, then known as Krakatoa.

The older volcano destroyed itself in mass eruptions in 1883, which killed more than 36,000 people in a series of tsunamis.