An eruption at Anak Krakatau in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait forced the closure of eight airports on Sunday and canceled 1,558 flights affecting roughly 170,000 passengers, according to Indonesian authorities.
The eruption came in the early hours of Sunday and lasted about 30 seconds, following activity first observed Friday.
Satellite imagery tracked by the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre identified two ash plumes: one rising to 20,000 feet and drifting northeast over Jakarta, Banten and West Java, and a second reaching 50,000 feet and spreading across Banten, Lampung, Bengkulu and part of the Indian Ocean.
Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Perdanakusuma airports were closed along with Radin Inten II in Lampung and four others.
Soekarno-Hatta alone accounted for 963 canceled flights. All eight were ordered shut until 8:59 a.m. Monday.
“Safety remains our top priority in every operational decision,” said Lukman F. Laisa of Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation.
No casualties were reported and no evacuations were ordered.
The nearest settlement sits more than 10 miles from the volcano, and authorities set an exclusion zone of about two miles from the crater.
“We continue to evaluate the volcano’s development based on all monitoring data,” said Lana Saria, head of Indonesia’s Geological Agency.
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