Indonesia Volcano Eruption Strands 270,000 as Airports Extend Closures
Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
At a glance
Newswire
Named sources
Ongoing story
- The eruption of Anak Krakatau disrupted air travel and left about 270,000 people stranded as affected airports extended temporary closures.
- Volcanic ash rose as high as 15,000 metres over parts of Sumatra and Java, while Indonesia’s Geological Agency warned that further eruptions remained likely.
- Authorities imposed a 3-kilometre exclusion zone around the crater and said there was no tsunami warning linked to the activity.
Long queues formed at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport as stranded passengers sought refunds and tried to learn when flights would resume after Anak Krakatau erupted.
A Malaysian couple who had spent a week in Bali said they had been told their next flight to Kuala Lumpur would not leave until September 11. “What are we going to do here for another five days? We only prepared enough money for our honeymoon and [were supposed] to go home yesterday,” Amir Hamzah told Malaysia’s national news agency Bernama.
What are we going to do here for another five days? We only prepared enough money for our honeymoon and [were supposed] to go home yesterday.
The 29-year-old said the couple had expected to sleep at the airport for a few hours before taking a morning flight home. “We never thought we would end up being stuck here for days,” he said. Another passenger, Suhardi, 58, was due to travel from Jakarta to Lampung for work. “This is nature, after all. So I have to accept it, because when it comes to nature, there’s no choice. Now I’m just waiting for the next update from the airline,” he told Reuters.
We never thought we would end up being stuck here for days.
Indonesia’s Geological Agency warned that the probability of further eruptions remained high. The meteorological agency BMKG said ash reached 6,000 metres on the Java side of the volcano and 15,000 metres on the Sumatra side and in parts of Banten, Java’s westernmost province.
Anak Krakatau sits in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, about 150 kilometres from Jakarta. Its most recent eruption occurred at 20:23 on Sunday. Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said authorities could not determine when airport closures would end because weather conditions remained dynamic. Airports were conducting tests every 30 minutes to track whether the ash spread was expanding or receding.
This is nature, after all. So I have to accept it, because when it comes to nature, there’s no choice. Now I’m just waiting for the next update from the airline.
Authorities warned people not to approach or conduct activities within 3 kilometres of the active crater. Ships crossing the Sunda Strait were also barred from entering the exclusion zone. Officials confirmed that the eruption had not prompted a tsunami warning.
We cannot ascertain when this will end due to the dynamic weather.
About this summary
Originally published by BBC News in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
More Stories
From Our Blog
News in Translation: What Gets Lost, and How We Keep the Framing
Diaspora Media: How Communities Follow News From Home
Traveling Where the Press Is Not Free: How to Read the News There
The Digital Nomad's Guide to Local News
The Same Story, Different Countries: How Coverage Changes at the Border
