MAGNITUDE 5.1 JAVA, INDONESIA #earthquake #Java #Indonesia

https://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=837799

Subject to change

Depth: 92 km

Distances: 214 km S of Semarang, Indonesia / pop: 1,289,000 / local time: 15:03:18.5 2020-03-12

128 km S of Yogyakarta, Indonesia / pop: 637,000 / local time: 15:03:18.5 2020-03-12
106 km S of Wonosari, Indonesia / pop: 27,500 / local time: 15:03:18.5 2020-03-12

Mount Raung eruption causes flight cancellations and thousands of holidaymakers left stranded in East Java, Indonesia

Ash spewing from a volcano on Indonesia’s main island of Java sparked chaos for holidaymakers as airports closed and international airlines canceled flights to tourist hot spot Bali, stranding thousands.

 

Mount Raung in East Java province, about 95 miles from Bali’s international airport, has been rumbling for several weeks. The level of activity increased in the past week and on Friday it blasted ash and debris 12,460 feet into the air.

 

Government volcanologist Gede Suantika said the eruption forced authorities to close five airports due to the risks posed by volcanic ash, though two airports on Lombok island reopened Friday afternoon. The Transport Ministry told airlines to avoid routes near the mountain. It said a decision about reopening other airports would be made later Friday.

 

Suantika said lava and ash falling from the 10,930-foot-high mountain on Indonesia’s most densely populated island also caused the government to urge people to stay away from a 3-kilometer- (2-mile-) high danger zone around the volcano.

 

Evacuation of residents living near the volcano is still considered unnecessary, but authorities are urging people to wear masks.

 

Flights within Indonesia were already overbooked as tens of millions of the country’s Muslims pour out of major cities to return to their villages during an annual mass exodus to celebrate the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

 

The volcano has proven particularly problematic for Australians, who flock to Bali during Australia’s school holidays.

 

Dozens of flights between Australia and Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport by Australian carriers Jetstar and Virgin Australia have been canceled over the past week, with the airlines citing safety concerns.

 

Both carriers said they are looking into adding extra flights between Australia and Bali when conditions improve to help clear the backlog.

 

At Bali’s international airport, many travelers arrived not knowing about the eruption and flight cancellations. The airport blocked access to ticket counters, adding to the confusion.

 

Some tourists slept on benches or stood at flight information boards filled with “postponed” and “delayed” notifications. Others complained of a lack of information about their delayed flights.

 

“The airline can’t tell us if we’re going to be here tonight or fly tomorrow or the next day,” said Charmaine Scott, an Australian holidaymaker.

 

“This is really difficult for us. We have to basically find some way to stay.”

 

She said she and her husband hadn’t heard about the eruption and flight cancellations until they arrived at the airport Friday morning.

 

Raung is among about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The archipelago is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a series of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.

 

Another Indonesian volcano, Mount Sinabung in Sumatra, has been erupting for two months, forcing the evacuation of more than 10,000 people.

Courtesy of nypost.com

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Central Java are bracing for more volcanic eruptions

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo has called on the Magelang regency administration to immediately focus on evacuation routes around Mount Merapi that remain in a questionable state, given the current alert status of the volcano, located on the provincial border between Central Java and Yogyakarta.

 

A number of bridges and roads, including eruption evacuation routes in Magelang, have been severely damaged, most likely due to heavy-duty trucks, which frequently ply the routes, carrying Merapi sand and rocks. 

 

Ganjar said his office would bring together businesspeople, truck drivers and relevant stakeholders in the near future to seek the best solution to the evacuation routes if the situation worsened. 

 

He added the matter was crucial so that evacuation routes could immediately be used by residents, especially in the event of an eruption.

 

“I’m sure that assistance funds from the provincial administration are adequate for the purpose [fixing damaged evacuation routes]. But the evacuation routes are under the authority of the Magelang regency administration, so I hope it will be able to focus on the matter,” Ganjar said as quoted by Antara news agency.

 

“We continue to communicate with the National Disaster Mitigation Agency [BNPB] and relevant stakeholders regarding the latest developments from Mount Merapi,” he added.

 

Separately, the Boyolali Regency Education, Youth and Sports Agency in Central Java has provided lodgings to accommodate ninth graders sitting the national examinations, in the event of a Merapi eruption. 

 

The students hail from Selo district, the closest location to the peak of the volcano.

 

Agency head Abdul Rohman said on Friday that his office had carried out the same measures when volcanic activities intensified in 2010. 

 

“During the exam, members of the exam committee will be at local education agency offices to distribute exam papers to the respective schools located in isolated areas in North Boyolali,” Rohman said, adding that 14,515 junior high school students in Boyolali would sit the national exams on Monday. 

 

In Yogyakarta, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s geology agency head Surono said Merapi’s current activities were different to those in 2010 and that it no longer had a lava dome. 

 

“Since it erupted in 2010, Merapi no longer has a ‘cap’. Its system is very open. That’s why it has often erupted with a roar lately,” Surono said as quoted by Antara.

 

According to Surono, the magma inside the volcano has virtually run out given the 2010 eruption, with Merapi now replenishing its magma chamber.

 

The magma-filling process, added Surono, emits gas when the magma-cooling process increases. Volcanic magma in Java is rich in gas content.

 

“That’s why we often hear explosions from the release of the gas. Sulfuric gas also escapes due to the lack of a plug in the crater. The gas is gradually released without accumulating greatly,” said Surono.

 

Yogyakarta Geological Disaster Technology Development and Research Center (BPPTKG) head Subandriyo said Merapi was experiencing a change in behavior, and that this had also happened after an eruption in 1872.

 

“Merapi has returned to its ‘normal’ state of 1883,” said Subandriyo.

 

He added that residents could still carry out their daily activities as usual, but they should remain alert for signs of deteriorating conditions.

http://tinyurl.com/koyajqu

MAGNITUDE 5.3 – JAVA, INDONESIA

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usc000n5wc#summary

Subject To Change

Depth: 81 km

Distances: 61km (38mi) SSE of Pujiharjo, Indonesia
73km (45mi) SSW of Kencong, Indonesia
83km (52mi) SSE of Dampit, Indonesia
85km (53mi) S of Lumajang, Indonesia
749km (465mi) ESE of Jakarta, Indonesia

Death Toll Rises From Indonesian Volcano

Four people are confirmed dead from a volcanic eruption in Indonesia, with three airports reopening while four others have remained closed, officials say.

Mount Kelud, considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes on the main island of Java, spewed red-hot ash and rocks high into the sky late Thursday night just hours after its alert status was raised.

 

“The airport in Malang city in East Java province, and Cilacap and Semarang cities in Central Java province have reopened. There’s no problem flying there now. We are now evaluating the status of other airports,” Transport Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said on Saturday.

 

Seven airports – including those serving international flights in Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Solo and Bandung – were forced to close Friday due to thick ash that blanketed eastern Javanese cities.

 

Ervan said the airports in Bandung and Surabaya are expected to reopen Sunday, while the airport in Solo may reopen Monday and the one in Yogyakarta on February 18.

 

On Friday, villagers in eastern Java described the terror of volcanic materials raining down on their homes, while AFP correspondents at the scene saw residents covered in grey dust fleeing in cars and on motorbikes towards evacuation centres.

 

The volcano spewed grey smoke some 3000 metres into the sky on Saturday, National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said, but added that “volcanic activity showed a slowing trend”.

 

Transport Ministry director general of aviation Herry Bakti said the authorities “will continue to monitor the movement of ash in the air via satellite”.

 

“We were informed by the volcanology agency this morning that no more powerful eruptions are expected. So it is safe to fly and flights can resume. We will issue an update via notice to airmen,” he told AFP on Saturday.

 

In an update, Nugroho said the death toll rose from three to four on Saturday, after a 97-year-old woman died from breathing difficulties. He said that 56,089 people are currently living in temporary shelters.

 

The 1731-metre Mount Kelud has claimed more than 15,000 lives since 1500, including around 10,000 deaths in a massive eruption in 1568.

 

It is one of 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a belt of seismic activity running around the basin of the Pacific Ocean.

 

Earlier this month another volcano, Mount Sinabung on western Sumatra island unleashed an enormous eruption that left at least 16 dead and has been erupting almost daily since September.

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MAGNITUDE 5.0 – JAVA, INDONESIA

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000m8w7#summary

Subject To Change

Depth: 83 km

Distances: 47km (29mi) S of Adipala, Indonesia
50km (31mi) S of Kroya, Indonesia
61km (38mi) SSW of Gombong, Indonesia
63km (39mi) S of Banyumas, Indonesia
335km (208mi) SE of Jakarta, Indonesia

MAGNITUDE 6.1 – JAVA, INDONESIA

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000m7wd#summary

Subject To Change

Depth: 89 km

Distances: 36km (22mi) SSE of Adipala, Indonesia
37km (23mi) S of Kroya, Indonesia
50km (31mi) SW of Gombong, Indonesia
51km (32mi) S of Banyumas, Indonesia
329km (204mi) SE of Jakarta, Indonesia

Landslide Kills 1 And 12 Missing In Indonesia

A woman has been killed and 12 other people are missing after torrential rains triggered a landslide that buried sleeping villagers on Indonesia’s main Java island, an official said Thursday, cited by AFP.

 

Rescuers were digging by hand through mounds of earth in Kudus district, central Java, to reach six houses buried by the landslide as the area was too remote to be reached by heavy machinery.

 

“The victims were sleeping when the landslide struck,” said local disaster agency official Junaidi, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

 

He said rescuers had so far found the body of a woman after Tuesday’s landslide and had also rescued one man alive but 12 people were still missing.

Deadly landslides and flooding are common during Indonesia’s six-month rainy season, and in the past week several parts of the country have been affected.

http://tinyurl.com/o43b6df

MAGNITUDE 5.0 – JAVA, INDONESIA

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usc000lzdf#summary

Subject To Change

Depth: 39 km

Distances: 49km (30mi) SW of Tugu Hilir, Indonesia
101km (63mi) SSW of Labuan, Indonesia
125km (78mi) SW of Pandeglang, Indonesia
132km (82mi) SW of Rangkasbitung, Indonesia
194km (121mi) WSW of Jakarta, Indonesia

 

MAGNITUDE 5.0 – JAVA, INDONESIA

http://www.emsc-csem.org/Earthquake/earthquake.php?id=345349

Subject To Change

Depth: 104 km

Distances: 216 km SE of Jakarta, Indonesia / pop: 8,540,121 / local time: 07:40:46.0 2013-11-25
107 km S of Bandung, Indonesia / pop: 1,699,719 / local time: 07:40:46.0 2013-11-25
58 km SW of Tasikmalaya, Indonesia / pop: 271,143 / local time: 07:40:46.0 2013-11-25