Indonesia’s volcano Mt Kelud set to erupt

by mpress | November 3, 2007 at 06:59 am

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Update:

Volcanologists in the southern Indonesian city of Sugihwaras said Monday a massive eruption from Mount Kelud appeared imminent.

The 5,700-foot volcano has been very active internally for the past
two weeks, and on Sunday, hot ash spewed from the crater, 1,600 feet
up, as boiling water poured down the sides, the Antara news agency reported.

That damaged equipment used to monitor the temperature in the
crater's lake, the level of which has been falling, officials at the
Center for Volcanology and Geological and Hazard Mitigation said.

SUGIHWARAS, Indonesia (Reuters) - Indonesia’s Mount Kelud volcano has erupted, according to seismographic signals, but signs of any ash or lava are not visible because of heavy cloud cover, a top official said on Saturday.

An estimated 350,000 people live within 10 km of the volcano which is about 90 km southwest of Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city and one of its busiest airports.

When Mount Kelud erupted in 1990 at least 30 people were killed. In 1919, about 5,000 died as Kelud ejected scalding water from its crater lake.

In Sugihwaras, a village 8 km from the crater that suffered casualties and was badly damaged in 1990, many people panicked when they heard the reports.

“The mosque announced that Kelud had erupted and there was a half hour to evacuate,” said Ngatijo, a villager.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, officials said.

Saut Simatupang, an official at Indonesia’s Centre for Vulcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, told Reuters continuous tremors had been detected, indicating an eruption.

But this was impossible to confirm visually.

“There is heavy cloud over there, so even ash could not be seen. But instrumentally it has erupted, as shown by the seismographic records that were over the scale,” he said.

Mount
Kelud, Indonesia (AHN) - A heavy fog cover meant that there was no
visual confirmation that Mount Kelud, one of Indonesia's deadliest
volcanoes, had begun erupting on Saturday, officials said.

Saut Simatupang, a leading scientist with Indonesia's Volcanology Center, said seismic readings indicate that Kelud is erupting.

The peak of the volcano had been concealed in dense fog, making a visual confirmation of the eruption difficult.

Authorities had placed areas around the volcano on high alert two
weeks ago and residents along Kelud's slopes have already been
evacuated.

The volcano last erupted in 1990, but its deadliest eruption recorded was in 1919 when over 5,000 people died.