Get out now! Massive evacuation, all airports closed, volcano erupted 90 minutes later

Virgin Australia said it had cancelled all its Friday flights to Bali, Phuket, Christmas Island and Cocos Island because of the emergency.
Director General of the Indonesian Civil Aviation, Herry Bakti S. Gumay, told metrotv, that his Ministry has issued NOTAM (notice to airmen) that Indonesia has closed its airspace to all air traffic flying below 2000 feet above East and West Java. While international flights flying over 2,000 feet were safe.

Attention everyone! Get at least 15 km away – Do it now! This was the emergency orders heard in Central Java, Indonesia today. At the same time Jogyakarta, Solo and Surabaya airports in Java were closed immediately due to dangers to aircraft engines and by low visibility caused by the ash. Ash up to an inch (2.5 centimeters) deep covered Surabaya, the country’s second-largest city, and even farther afield in Jogyakarta, where motorists switched on headlights in daylight. TV footage from towns closer to the peak showed cattle covered in ash.

A 1,731-meter volcano became active at 22:50 local time Thursday, forcing authorities to issue an evacuation warning to about 200,000 people living in 36 villages within 10 kilometers of the crater in Indonesia

After that thousands have been forced to evacuate in East Java, Indonesia as Mount Kelud volcano has started spewing lava into the air. Clouds of volcanic ash have forced the closure of three international airports.

About 90 minutes after authorities raised the alert status to the highest level, the volcano erupted. No casualties have so far been reported.

The eruption could be heard 130 kilometers in the country’s second largest city Surabaya as ash covered everything within the vicinity.

The rains of gravel and sand have reached 15 kilometers from the crater, hitting and impairing those being evacuated. This means that the evacuees must go farther than 15 kilometers, Umar Rosadi, a volcanologist at the national volcanology agency, told Xinhua by phone.

Kelud is among about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The last Kelud eruption was in 1990, killing more than 30 people and injured hundreds.

Indonesia’s president Yudhoyono has immediately convened a cabinet meeting to coordinate all emergency measures. Java is the most densely populated island in Indonesia, where half of Indonesia’s population lives. The reason for this is Java’s fertile soil, which is caused by none other than volcanic eruptions.

Earlier this month, at least 17 people were killed when Mount Sinabung volcano erupted in North Sumatra.