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7 a.m. Friday update:
A powerful volcanic eruption on Indonesia's most populous island blasted ash and debris 18 kilometres (12 miles) into the air Friday, killing three people and forcing authorities to evacuate more than 100,000 and close seven airports.
The eruption of Mount Kelud on Java island could be heard up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) away, Indonesia's disaster agency said.
"The eruption sounded like thousands of bombs exploding," Ratno Pramono, a 35-year-old farmer, said as he checked his property in the village of Sugihwaras, about 5 kilometres (3 miles) from the crater. "I thought doomsday was upon us. Women and children were screaming and crying."
Ash and grit fell to earth in towns and cities across the region, including Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city after Jakarta, with a population of about 3 million. It also fell farther afield in Yogyakarta, where motorists switched on headlights in daylight. Workers attempted to cover the famed ninth century Buddhist temple complex of Borobudur with plastic sheeting to protect it.
A 60-year-old woman and an 80-year-old man were killed in the village of Pandansari, about 7 kilometres (4 miles) from the mountain, when the roofs of their homes collapsed under the weight of the ash and volcanic debris, the disaster agency said. A 70-year-old man died after being hit by a collapsed wall while waiting to be evacuated from the same village, where the volcanic ash reached 20 centimetres (8 inches) deep in some places.
11:23 p.m. Thursday Feb. 13: A major volcanic eruption in Indonesia shrouded a large swath of the country's most heavily populated island in ash on Friday, triggering the evacuation of more than 100,000 people and the closure of three international airports.
Two people were killed when the roofs of their homes collapsed under the weight of the ash and volcanic debris unleashed during an explosive overnight eruption of Java island's Mount Kelud that could be heard up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) away, the country's disaster agency said.
Gray ash up to an inch (2.5 centimetres) deep covered Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, and even farther afield in Yogyakarta, where motorists switched on headlights in daylight. In villages closer to the peak, cattle were covered in ash.
International airports in Jogyakarta, Solo and Surabaya were closed due to reduced visibility and the dangers posed to aircraft engines by ash, Transport Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said. Virgin Australia said it had cancelled all its Friday flights to Bali, Phuket, Christmas Island and Cocos Island because of the eruption.
Indonesia's disaster agency said tremors were still wracking the volcano, but scientists didn't expect another major eruption. It said all villages within 10 kilometres (6 miles) of Kelud had been evacuated — more than 100,000 people — to temporary shelters, but that elsewhere villagers had returned to their homes to begin cleaning up.
The 1,731-meter (5,680-feet) Mount Kelud in eastern Java — Indonesia's most densely populated island and home to more than half of the country's 240 million people — has been rumbling for several weeks and was under close observation.
Muhammad Hendrasto, head of Indonesia's volcano monitoring agency, said the mountain erupted violently about 90 minutes after authorities raised its alert status to the highest level. The disaster agency said it had spewed millions of cubic meters of debris into the atmosphere.
Kelud is among about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The archipelagic nation is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes because of its location on the so-called "Ring of Fire" — a series of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.
Due to the fertile volcanic soil and the shortage of space on Java, hundreds of thousands of people live close to active volcanoes. They are used to the rumblings, but their proximity to the peaks presents difficulties for authorities.
The last major eruption at Kelud was in 1990, when it kicked out searing fumes and lava that killed more than 30 people and injured hundreds. In 1919, a powerful explosion that reportedly could be heard hundreds of kilometres away killed at least 5,160 people.
