SUGIHWARAS, Indonesia (Reuters) - Indonesia’s Mount Kelud volcano has erupted, according to seismographic signals, but signs of any ash or lava are not visible because of heavy cloud cover, a top official said on Saturday.

An estimated 350,000 people live within 10 km of the volcano which is about 90 km southwest of Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city and one of its busiest airports.

When Mount Kelud erupted in 1990 at least 30 people were killed. In 1919, about 5,000 died as Kelud ejected scalding water from its crater lake.

In Sugihwaras, a village 8 km from the crater that suffered casualties and was badly damaged in 1990, many people panicked when they heard the reports.

“The mosque announced that Kelud had erupted and there was a half hour to evacuate,” said Ngatijo, a villager.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, officials said.

Saut Simatupang, an official at Indonesia’s Centre for Vulcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation, told Reuters continuous tremors had been detected, indicating an eruption.

But this was impossible to confirm visually.

“There is heavy cloud over there, so even ash could not be seen. But instrumentally it has erupted, as shown by the seismographic records that were over the scale,” he said.

BWN 

Filed under: Indonesia, News, Volcano