Volcanic eruption in Indonesia forces evacuations, flight cancellations
Lembata (AP): Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki erupted with giant ash and smoke plumes again on Wednesday after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancellations, including to and from the resort island of Bali.
Several eruptions sent ash up to 5,000 metres into the sky from Tuesday evening to Wednesday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10,000 metres into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150 kilometres away.
The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8 kilometres from the crater.
Officers also evacuated from the Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki monitoring post 7 kilometres from the crater to avoid falling gravel released in the eruption. No casualties have been reported.
Ash and debris fell in a number of places outside the danger zone, including the villages of Boru, Hewa and Watobuku. Some residents from Nurabelen village in Ile Bura subdistrict fled to evacuation sites in Konga to avoid the impact of the eruption, the National Disaster Management Agency said in a statement.
“Some residents have also evacuated to Nileknoheng village, which is 12 kilometres from the crater,” said Abdul Muhari, the National Disaster Management Agency's spokesperson.
Dozens of flights on Wednesday were cancelled, including those connecting Bali to cities in Australia, Malaysia, India and China, according to the website of Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. Volcanic ash can pose a risk to plane engines.
Flights also were cancelled to and from the international airport in Labuan Bajo another tourist destination in Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara province. The airport is still operating.
The cancellations and delays affected thousands of travellers. Australian carrier Jetstar, which flies daily between the tourist hotspot and several Australian cities, said the ash cloud was forecast to clear by late Wednesday and its services would be rescheduled.
Air New Zealand cancelled one return trip to Auckland and would rebook customers on the next available service, the airline said in a statement Wednesday. Flights to New Delhi, Singapore and Pudong, China, were also cancelled due to the volcano, according to information on the website for Denpasar airport in Bali.
The 1,584-metre Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki is a twin volcano with Mount Lewotobi Perempuan in the district of Flores Timur.
The volcano has had several eruptions, and its danger level and no-go zone have changed several times before being raised again to the highest level Tuesday.
An eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki in November killed nine people and injured dozens. It also erupted in March.
Indonesia is an archipelago of 270 million people with frequent seismic activity. It has 120 active volcanoes and sits along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
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Nagaland bypoll: Over 59 pc voter turnout recorded in Koridang seat till 1 pm
Kohima (PTI): More than 59 per cent of 22,382 electors exercised their franchise in Nagaland's Koridang assembly bypoll till 1 pm on Thursday, officials said.
The voting that commenced at 7 am across all 30 polling stations has so far been peaceful, they said.
The polling will continue till 4 pm.
"The voter turnout was 59.52 per cent till 1 pm. Polling has been peaceful," an Election Commission official said.
Security has been tightened across the constituency following violence on April 5 and 6, in which one person died, and several vehicles were damaged.
The byelection was necessitated by the demise of sitting BJP MLA Imkong L. Imchen in November last year.
A total of 22,382 electors, including 11,071 women, are eligible to decide the fate of six candidates in the fray.
The BJP, which is part of the ruling People's Democratic Alliance (PDA), has fielded the deceased MLA's son Daochier I. Imchen, while the Congress has nominated T. Chalukumba Ao for the seat. The NPP candidate is I Abenjang, and the Independents are Imchatoba Imchen, Imtiwapang, and Toshikaba.
All the candidates have exercised their franchise in the respective polling stations in the first hour of polling, the officials said.
Of the 30 polling stations, 13 have been categorised as vulnerable and 17 as critical, prompting deployment of additional security personnel and intensified surveillance. Two polling stations have been designated as all-women booths.
Counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
