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Heavy ash closes schools and airports in C. Java
Mount Keludâs eruption in East Java on Thursday night has covered the Central Java cities of Surakarta, Boyolali, Sukoharjo, Karanganyar, Wonogiri, Sragen and Klaten with up to 2 centimeters of ash
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ount Kelud's eruption in East Java on Thursday night has covered the CentralJava cities of Surakarta, Boyolali, Sukoharjo, Karanganyar, Wonogiri, Sragenand Klaten with up to 2 centimeters of ash.
As a result, local schools and airports were closed Friday for safety reasons, with Adi Soemarmo Airport, Surakarta, being closed since 5:30 a.m. and Adi Sucipto Airport, Yogyakarta, since 6 a.m.
'Yogyakarta had been vigorously showered with ash as the scale of Mt. Kelud's eruption proves to be greater then Mt. Merapi's in 2010,' Yogyakarta Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development (BPPTKG) director Subandriyo told The Jakarta Post in Yogyakarta on Friday.
Subandriyo said that the Mt. Kelud had spewed 120 to 160 million cubic meters of material. Yogyakarta BPPTKG will continue monitoring the eruption.
Meanwhile, schools and airports couldn't say when they would start operating again.
'Adi Sucipto Airport has been closed since 6 a.m.,' said Adi Sucipto Airport PR officer Faisal Indra Kusuma.
He explained that the airport stopped operating because visibility was only 200 meters.
'With this visibility no planes are able to land or take off from Adi Sucipto Airport,' Faisal said.
The situation was similar at Adi Soemarmo Airport in Surakarta, where visibility was 500 meters.
'We don't know how long this shutdown will last because as of now [9 a.m.] the ash is continuing to fall,' PT Angkasa Pura Adi Soemarmo airport general manager Abdullah Usman said.
According to Usman, Airport staff would immediately clear runways once the ash stopped raining down. As of Friday morning, four flights had been canceled: three to Jakarta and one to Banjarmasin. Up to 480 passengers were affected.
Meanwhile, Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X and Surakarta Health Agency officials told citizens to obtain masks from the nearest health center.
Surakarta Red Cross (PMI) also distributed masks around the area.
'Follow the government's reports, citizens have no need to panic,' Sri Sultan said. (bcw)
