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Indonesia on Alert: Flights Rerouted around Erupting Volcano

Indonesia on Alert: Flights Rerouted around Erupting Volcano
folder_openAsia-Pacific... access_time5 years ago
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Local Editor

Authorities in Indonesia have rerouted all flights around the erupting Anak Krakatoa volcano, days after it is believed to have triggered a devastating tsunami that killed hundreds of people and caused widespread destruction.

The move on Thursday by Indonesia's air traffic control agency AirNav came as the volcanic island located in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra continued spewing columns of ash into the air.

"All flights are rerouted due to Krakatoa volcano ash on red alert," AirNav said in a statement.

Authorities also raised the volcano's alert level to the second-highest - "stand-by" - and widened an exclusion zone around it to 5km.

A crater collapse on Anak Krakatoa at high tide on Saturday night is thought to have sent waves smashing into the Indonesian shoreline, engulfing fishing villages and popular resorts along the coasts of western Java and southern Sumatra.

The confirmed death toll is 430 people, with at least 159 others missing. Almost 1,500 people have been injured and thousands more have been displaced.

Anak Krakatoa is an island that emerged in the 1920s as the crater left by Krakatoa, whose massive eruption in 1883 was one of the most catastrophic in recorded history, killing at least 36,000 people.

Experts have warned that volcanic activity at the site remains high and more deadly waves could slam the stricken region now covered by mountains of overturned cars, boats, furniture and other debris.

Along the coast, thousands of people are staying in tents and temporary shelters like mosques or schools, with dozens sleeping on the floor or in crowded public facilities. Rice and instant noodles have been delivered to many shelters, but clean water, wet weather gear, fresh clothes and blankets are in short supply, some evacuees said.

A state of emergency has been declared until January 4, which authorities hope will make it easier to deploy assistance, according to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesperson for the national disaster mitigation agency.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

 

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