The volcano erupted twice on Sunday, Sept. 6
Credit: INDONESIAN GEOLOGICAL AGENCY/HANDOUT/EPA/Shutterstock
NEED TO KNOW
- The Anak Krakatau volcano erupted twice on Sunday, Sept. 6, sending ash across Indonesia and disrupting air travel
- Eight airports were closed, and more than 1,500 flights were canceled, leaving 170,000 travelers stranded
- Authorities urged residents to stay indoors and wear masks to limit eye and respiratory irritation in affected areas
About 170,000 travelers were left stranded in Indonesia after a volcano erupted, causing ash to drift across the country.
According to the BBC and the Associated Press, the volcanic island of Anak Krakatau — located in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait between the Java and Sumatra islands — erupted for 30 seconds just before 4 a.m. local time on Sunday, Sept. 6. About three hours later, it erupted again for about 16 seconds.
Footage obtained by the outlets showed lava spewing from the volcano, which first started showing signs of activity on Friday, Sept. 4, according to Indonesia’s Geological Agency. Ash drifted from the eruption site to the capital city of Jakarta and Lampung province, located at the southern tip of Sumatra.
No evacuation orders were issued, and no deaths were reported, but authorities warned people in the area to stay at least two miles away from the crater.
The eruption and volcanic ash also caused Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to cancel all of its flights, and several other domestic airports followed suit.
Credit: Firdaus Wajidi/Anadolu via Getty
AirNav Indonesia also opted to close the airspace around Soekarno-Hatta as well as Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport in Jakarta. By Sunday night, a total of eight airports had closed until midnight.
The outlets reported that about 170,000 passengers were stranded in the area after 1,558 flights were canceled.
Many of the impacted flights were heading to and from Singapore, the BBC reported, citing the country’s transport ministry. Other impacted routes included Doha, Sydney and Kuala Lumpur.
Several travelers who spoke to AP called the eruption and canceled flights an “inconvenience” and shared that they hoped to hear more from the impacted airlines soon.
“It’s a natural disaster, it’s a force majeure, so what can we do?” Michele Gouw, an Indonesian passenger, told the outlet. “We just have to accept it and wait for the airline and airport directions.”
“It’s of course an inconvenience,” added Diego Urdiales, a Spanish tourist who was supposed to fly home to Madrid. “I was supposed to get input from the airline … but so far no news.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Indonesia’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said it was closely monitoring the eruption’s impact on air travel and coordinating with airlines, airports, air navigation services and the country’s meteorology agency, per the BBC.
“Safety remains our top priority in every operational decision,” Lukman F. Laisa, the Ministry of Transportation director general of civil aviation, told AP in a statement, adding that flight schedules could face additional disruptions as airlines and local airports work to resume normal operations.
Additionally, Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi urged airlines to speed up their processes for refunding stranded passengers’ tickets and provide as much information as possible to those with upcoming flights to avoid overcrowding at airports.
The BBC reported that the impacts of the eruption were also felt outside of air travel. Several schools canceled activities, and some fishermen canceled trips at sea, as locals reported eye irritation from the ash in the air.
The country’s health minister advised residents in affected areas to stay inside. Residents were also urged to wear face masks to protect against respiratory, eye and skin irritation.
Anak Krakatau is an island that emerged from the sea following the 1883 eruption of Mount Krakatoa — one of the deadliest volcanic eruptions in recorded history. The eruption, which was reportedly heard from nearly 2,000 miles away, lasted months and resulted in more than 36,000 fatalities.
Krakatau has been periodically active since then, as the island emerged from the caldera formed in the 1883 eruption. In 2018, the volcano collapsed, triggering a huge tsunami that killed more than 400 people and displaced thousands on the country’s coastlines.
As for Sunday’s eruption, authorities said there is no tsunami warning in place.
Read the full article here
