Indonesian Volcano Erupts, Grounds Flights in Australia: Ash Shot 10,000 Feet Into Sky
An Indonesian volcano first erupted yesterday and has continued to spew ash into the sky, causing disruptions in Indonesia and its neighbors.
Mount Sangeang, located in West Nusa Tenggara's Bilma district, erupted on Friday at around 3 p.m. local time and shot ash almost 10,000 ft. into the sky, according to the Jakarta Globe. The ash cloud reached the city of Bilma, more than 40 miles away. Residents were instructed to not go within a mile of the erupting volcano.
Although no deaths have been reported, the Tempo says that the volcano erupted a second time on early on Saturday. Fourteen residents have been declared missing and 3,000 were evacuated from the surrounding areas following the eruption at 1:20 a.m. local time. A Bilma Indonesian Red Cross officer, named Suryadin, reports that officers are looking for those missing.
"They got separated after Mt Sangeang erupted. Everyone went panic. The following eruption was beyond prediction," Suryadin said.
However, the volcanoes eruption has disrupted flights in Indonesia and its southern neighbor, Australia. According to The Australian, the ash cloud is moving towards the southeast over the west side of the Northern Territory as far south as Alice Springs. A meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology's Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre in Darwin, Tim Birch, said that the cloud could linger for days and another cloud is heading for Darwin.
"The plume that is affecting Darwin will be around for the next 18 hours," he said. "We will see the plume here start to move east will start to move out of the Northern Territory and move steadily east in the location of Mount Isa (in Queensland) and it will start to dissipate."
He added that the volcano is continuing to erupt and is producing a steady plume of ash. Many airlines initially cancelled flights to and from the affected area. These include Virgin Australia and the Qantas Group, which has grounded all flights to and from Darwin.
All international and domestic flights by Virgin, Jetstar, Qantas, Emirates and Airnorth have been cancelled and Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss also warned that the cloud could remain in the area for a number of days if the winds and weather do not change.