Volcano erupts in Indonesia: 76,000 evacuated, most of Java’s airports shut

[malaise]

http://www.euronews.com/2014/02/14/second-volcano-erupts-in-indonesia/
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More than 76,000 people fled their homes and flights were grounded across most of Indonesia’s densely populated island of Java on Friday after a volcanic eruption sent a huge plume of ash and sand 17 km (10 miles) into the air.

The ash cloud from Thursday night’s eruption of Mount Kelud in the province of East Java moved west over the island, forcing the closure of seven airports and stranding thousands of passengers. The only major airports still operating on Java were two in the capital, Jakarta.

“Based on verified data, over 76,000 people have been evacuated from five cities around the volcano … and about 200,000 people were affected,” National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Nugroho said in a text message.