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Dust masks selling out amid Mt. Kelud eruption
Many drug stores in Semarang said they were running out of dust masks as people continued to purchase them in large numbers for protection against the ash that continues to rain down from the erupting Mount Kelud in East Java
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any drug stores in Semarang said they were running out of dust masks as people continued to purchase them in large numbers for protection against the ash that continues to rain down from the erupting Mount Kelud in East Java.
'We are now running out of stock as people have been buying them since this morning,' Ani, an employee at Karangrejo drug store in Semarang, said on Friday.
Murtiyati, resident of Pedurungan, had bought dust masks for herself and her children. Andriyanto, another resident, said the thick ash could have damaging effects on one's respiratory system if a dust mask wasn't worn.
'I learned from the Mt. Merapi eruption a few years ago that you should not underestimate the effects of thick ash,' he said.
Semarang, like many other cities across East and Central Java, is now covered in thick ash. Limited visibility from the ash has forced Ahmad Yani airport to halt operations.
The ash had also hampered train travel, especially those coming from the east. Eko Budiyanto from the state-owned railway company KAI said that the limited visibility had forced engineers to lower the train speed from 80 km/hour to 50 km/hour.
'The only lane that is still normal is the Jakarta-Semarang north coast line,' he said.(dic)
