Volcanic Ashes From Mount Raung Blow Towards Bali

Kuta, Bali (Antara Bali) -- Volcanic ashes being spewed by the erupting Mount Raung have been blowing towards Bali Island, according to a senior official of airport management company PT Angkasa Pura I in the province.

The eruption of Mount Raung, which is located in Banyuwangi in East Java, is affecting I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali, the general manager of the airport`s Angkasa Pusa I subsidiary, Trikora Harjo, told the press here on Friday.

The information was obtained from the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center in Darwin, Australia, and the Denpasar branch of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.

The volcanic ashes are being expelled to heights of between 17,000 and 20,000, which can endanger flights.

Based on this information, the regulatory operator has decided to cancel all flights to and from I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport.

On Thursday, July 9, the airport in Bali shut down operations temporarily. However, it is expected to resume operations at 9:30 p.m. local time, while passengers stranded at the airport due to the cancellations were taken to hotels.

Mount Raung in East Java province erupted on July 5, spewing plumes of smoke, incandescent cinder and lava.

"Mount Raung`s was a strombolian type of eruption," Head of the Data and Information Center of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency Nugroho said in a broadcast message on July 5.

A strombolian eruption is a relatively low-level volcanic eruption that includes ejection of incandescent cinder and thin lava, with medium pressured gases. The eruption is not too strong but is continuous and long-lasting, Nugroho explained.

The authority is still imposing an exclusion zone of three kilometers from the mount`s peak, with alert status at level III.

It has distributed 120 thousand masks and has its personnel on standby at a few mitigation posts.

Volcanic ash from the mount rained over the two villages of Sumberejo in Banyuputih sub-district and Bantal in Asembagus sub-district, Situbondo district. However, people`s activities continued as usual.

Mount Raung is one of the active volcanoes in Java Island. It is 3,332 meters above sea level and is located at the border of Jember, Bondowoso, and Banyuwangi districts.

It has a 2-kilometer-wide caldera surrounded by a grayish rim. The difference in color between the rim and the flanks of the volcano is caused by lack of vegetation along the rim as compared to the healthy and extensive vegetation in the flanks. (WDY)