Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano erupted early Sunday, prompting the cancellation of all flights at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and disrupting other domestic airports as volcanic ash drifted across parts of western Indonesia.
asserted
ash → erupt → Indonesia
Indonesia’s Geological Agency said the volcanic island located in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait between the main Java and Sumatra islands had showed signs of activity since Friday before erupting for 30 seconds at 3:53 a.m. Sunday.
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island → say → a.m.
Closed-circuit camera footage showed lava flares from the volcano.
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footage → show → volcano
No casualties were reported and no evacuation order was issued.
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order → report → ?
The nearest settlement is more than 16 kilometres (10 miles) away, but authorities warned residents and visitors to stay at least three kilometres (two miles) from the active crater.
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authorities → warn → crater
Volcanic ash spread across parts of Jakarta and Lampung province on Sumatra’s southern tip, Indonesia’s Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said.
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Center → spread → Volcanology
AirNav Indonesia closed airspace around Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Perdanakusuma airports in Jakarta, as well as six other airports, including Radin Inten II Airport in Lampung, because of volcanic ash.
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Indonesia → close → ash
Thousands of passengers affected
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Thousands → affect → passengers
By Sunday evening, the closure had affected 467 flight movements in Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport alone that affected about 150,000 passengers.
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that → affect → passengers
The airport was ordered closed until at least 9:30 p.m.
“It’s of course an inconvenience,” said Diego Urdiales, a Spanish tourist who was supposed to fly home to Madrid.
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who → order → Madrid
“I was supposed to get input from the airline … but so far no news.”
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I → suppose → airline
“It’s a natural disaster, it’s a force majeure, so, what can we do?” said Michele Gouw, an Indonesian passenger.
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Gouw → ’ → what
“We just have to accept it and wait for the airline and airport directions.”
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We → have → directions
Indonesia’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said it was closely monitoring the eruption’s impact on air travel and coordinating with airlines, airport operators, air navigation services and the meteorology agency.
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it → say → airlines
“Safety remains our top priority in every operational decision,” Lukman F. Laisa, Ministry of Transportation director general of civil aviation, said in a statement.
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Laisa → remain → statement
He warned flight schedules could face cascading disruptions affecting aircraft rotations, fleet availability and terminal capacity as airlines work to restore operations.
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airlines → warn → operations
The eruption also disrupted services at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport and at Medan.
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eruption → disrupt → Medan
Volcano remains active
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Volcano → remain → ?
Indonesia’s volcanology agency and the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre identified two ash clouds using satellite imagery.
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agency → identify → imagery
One plume rose to 20,000 feet (6,100 meters) and drifted northeast over Jakarta, Banten, West Java and nearby waters.
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plume → rise → Jakarta
A second cloud reached 50,000 feet (15,200 meters) and spread over parts of Banten, Lampung and Bengkulu provinces, the southern Sunda Strait and sections of the Indian Ocean west of Sumatra.
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cloud → reach → Sumatra
Lana Saria, head of Indonesia’s Geological Agency, said activity at Anak Krakatau has intensified since July, with Sunday’s eruption the strongest during the current period of unrest.
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eruption → say → unrest
The repeated eruptions indicate a continued supply of magma and volcanic gases beneath the volcano, she said, though officials cannot predict whether a larger eruption will occur.
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eruption → repeat → volcano
“We continue to evaluate the volcano’s development based on all monitoring data, not solely on the number of eruptions or the height of the ash column,” Saria said in a video briefing.
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Saria → continue → briefing
She said the main hazards include volcanic ash, high concentrations of gas and the ejection of hot rocks and other material around the crater area.
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hazards → say → area
Anak Krakatau, which means “child of Krakatau,” is the offspring of the famous Krakatau, whose monumental 1883 eruption triggered a period of global cooling.
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eruption → mean → cooling
The eruption caused a tsunami in 2018 that killed at least 430 people in Sumatra and Java.
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that → cause → Sumatra
Researchers believe volcanic activity triggered an underwater landslide and caused a large chunk of Anak Krakatau’s southwest slope to collapse and displace a large volume of water.
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chunk → believe → water
Scientists said Anak Krakatau island was only about a quarter of its original size after that eruption.
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island → say → eruption
—Associated Press journalists Edna Tarigan, Dita Alangkara and Fadlan Syam in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.
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Tarigan → contribute → report
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