Mt Kelut volcano eruption

On February 13, 2014, suddenly the volcano Mt Kelut erupted in a big bang. Mt Kelut is a stratovolcano, located around 100 km south of Tuban, between the cities Malang and Kediri in Indonesia. The eruption was very strong. My friends told me, that the bang was hearable even in Tuban.  Moreover, the ash from the eruption fell down in Tuban as well. For two days a thin layer of grey ash covered the town. Fortunately, it’s the rainy season and the next rain cleaned up all.

However, on the day of the eruption, I was in Jakarta. That’s why my return flight to Surabaya was cancelled. After the eruption of the volcano, the airport in Surabaya closed for three days because of falling ash. When I arrived in Surabaya four days later after the eruption, the airport was still partially covered by ash.

Bags filled with ash piling up beside the roads. Wherever possible people collecting the ash and filling bags with the ash. I surprised by it. Later I learned that the ash used as fertilizer in farming.

On the next weekend, I took the opportunity to drive to the hit area around Mt Kelut. It was a very cloudy and rainy day. However, I saw people saving their goods and looking after their houses. Most of the villagers left their houses already or had evacuated. A strong smell of volcanic gases spread all over the impacted area.

It wasn’t possible to come close to Kelut’s crater. Because of ash and stones everywhere spit out from the volcano. Many houses and buildings collapsed by falling stones and ash during the eruption.

Banana plants and trees have broken branches or have snapped off leaves. A grey ash layer covered the farming yards. Just the tips from plants looking out of the ash.