Indonesian volcano spews massive ash cloud as it erupts again
There have been no reports of casualties since Monday morning, when the volcano on the island of Flores began spewing ash and lava again. Authorities have placed it on the highest alert level since an earlier round of eruptions three weeks ago.
At least 24 flights to and from the neighbouring resort island of Bali were cancelled on Monday, though some resumed on Tuesday.
The initial column of hot clouds that rose at 11:05 (03:05 GMT) Monday was the volcano's highest since November, said geology agency chief Muhammad Wafid.
"An eruption of that size certainly carries a higher potential for danger, including its impact on aviation," Wafid told The Associated Press.
Monday's eruption, which was accompanied by a thunderous roar, led authorities to enlarge the exclusion zone to a 7km radius from the central vent. They also warned of potential lahar floods - a type of mud or debris flow of volcanic materials - if heavy rain occurs.The twin-peaked volcano erupted again at 19:30 on Monday, sending ash clouds and lava up to 13km into the air. It erupted a third time at 05:53 on Tuesday at a reduced intensity.Videos shared overnight show glowing red lava spurting from the volcano's peaks as residents get into cars and buses to flee.More than 4,000 people have been evacuated from the area so far, according to the local disaster management agency.Residents who have stayed put are facing a shortage of water, food and masks, local authorities say."As the eruption continues, with several secondary explosions and ash clouds drifting westward and northward, the affected communities who have not been relocated... require focused emergency response efforts," say Paulus Sony Sang Tukan, who leads the Pululera village, about 8km from Lewotobi Laki-laki."Water is still available, but there's concern about its cleanliness and whether it has been contaminated, since our entire area was blanketed in thick volcanic ash during yesterday's [eruptions]," he said.Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where tectonic plates collide, causing frequent volcanic activity as well as earthquakes.Lewotobi Laki-laki has erupted multiple times this year - no casualties have been reported so far.However, an eruption last November killed at least 10 people and forced thousands to flee. — BBC
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Saudi Gazette
11 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
More than 30 killed in nursing home hit by Beijing floods
BEIJING — Flooding killed 31 residents at a care home for elderly people on the outskirts of Beijing this week, local officials have said. Footage showed emergency teams wading through chest-high water trying to rescue those trapped in the home in the Miyun District. Many of those who died were reportedly immobile. Local officials have admitted there were "loopholes in emergency planning" and said the incident was a painful lesson that served as "a wake-up call". A total of 44 people have died in the Beijing floods, which have come during a summer of extreme weather across China. Record heatwaves hit the eastern regions earlier this month while separate floods swept the country's south-west. About 77 elderly residents were inside the home when the floods hit, trapping about 40 of them as water levels rose to almost 2m (6ft), according to Chinese media. The facility - situated in Taishitun Town - primarily cares for those who are severely disabled, low-income, or receiving minimal living allowances, local media reports."For a long time, the central area of the town where the nursing home is located had been considered safe, so it was not included in the evacuation scope of the plan," a Chinese official said at a press conference on Thursday."This reveals that there are loopholes in our emergency planning. Our understanding of extreme weather has been insufficient, and this painful lesson has served as a wake-up call."In nearby Hebei province, 16 people died as a result of extreme rainfall, officials said. In the city of Chengde, eight were killed, with 18 still unaccounted is no stranger to flooding, particularly in the summer months. One of the deadliest in recent memory occurred in July 2012, when 190mm of rain drenched the city in a day, killing 79 summer, floods have wreaked havoc across swathes of people were killed and 10 people went missing in Shandong province earlier this month when Typhoon Wipha struck eastern China. Two weeks earlier, a landslide killed three people in Ya'an city, in the country's weather, which experts link to climate change, has increasingly threatened China's residents and economy - especially its trillion-dollar agriculture disasters in the first half of the year have cost China 54.11 billion yuan ($7.5bn; £5.7bn), its emergency management ministry said earlier this month. Flooding accounted for more than 90% of the losses, it added. — BBC
Saudi Gazette
a day ago
- Saudi Gazette
Greece warns of 'invasion' as it halts asylum on Med route
HERAKLION, Crete — In the center of a sweltering, cavernous hall, rows of men sit in silence with nothing to occupy them but the wait. Signs from an old tourist fair propped up behind them urge visitors to "Explore the Beauty of Nature" with illustrations of coves and beaches in Crete. But those held in the former Ayia exhibition centre did not come to the Greek island as holidaymakers. They are migrants who risked a journey across the sea from Libya to Europe's southern tip and were then detained and denied the right to apply for asylum. From Crete, they are now being moved to closed facilities on the mainland. The right for anyone to request protection, or asylum, is inscribed in EU and international law and in the constitution of Greece itself. But in a move implemented in haste earlier this month and criticised by human rights lawyers, the government has over-ridden that principle for the next three months at least. The new migration minister, Thanos Plevris, has told the BBC his country faces a "state of emergency". He warns of an "invasion" if Europe does not enact tough measures and talks of the need for strong deterrence. "Anyone who comes will be detained and returned," he stresses. Now even people fleeing war in Sudan are locked up with no chance to explain their story. Inside the old exhibition centre, migrants were warned off speaking to us by the guards. "They're in detention," we were told. Greece is baking in a heatwave and many of the men were in vests or stripped to the waist. There were a few water taps around the edges but no proper showers and only grubby blankets on the floor. Boxes of donated clothes and toys piled up by the door remained unpacked by guards wary of provoking fights. Over two days we saw just a couple of hundred migrants at Ayia – from countries including Egypt, Bangladesh and Yemen, we heard, as well as Sudan. There were 20 or so teenage boys and two women sitting together at the back. But when 900 people landed from Libya during one weekend earlier this month, the facility was stretched to the limit. More than 7,000 migrants reached Crete between January and late June, more than three times the number in 2024. In all, the EU's Frontex border agency recorded almost 20,000 crossings in the Eastern Mediterranean in that period, with the Libya-Crete corridor now the main route. Traffickers began sending people to Crete in earnest after Italy signed a deeply controversial deal with Libya a couple of years ago that allows for migrants to be intercepted at sea and pushed back despite extensive evidence of human rights abuses. It was mid-July when the government in Athens made its own move. "The road to Greece is closing," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament, announcing that all migrants "entering illegally" would be arrested. A few days later, Mustafa – a 20-year old who ran from the war in Sudan – was detained. From Ayia he was transferred to a camp outside Athens known as Amygdaleza, rows of grey prefabricated huts in a parched clearing surrounded by tall fences and security cameras. "We are living here like a prison," Mustafa told me, when I managed to make contact by phone. "They don't allow us to move. We don't have clothes or shoes. Our situation is very bad." Lawyers who have visited Amygdaleza confirm his account, describing recent arrivals walking barefoot on baking hot soil and receiving minimal information. Ordinarily, Sudanese citizens would be granted asylum in Europe. In a series of voice and text messages, Mustafa recounted how he had spent months in dire conditions in Libya waiting for his chance to cross. He was then at sea for two days with 38 people crammed on to a plastic boat that had to be rescued. "We didn't manage to reach [land] because of the waves." Having survived that ordeal, he is now scared Greece will try to return him. "I left my country because of the war, I can't go back," Mustafa said. "I come from Sudan because there is war in Sudan and I want protection. That's why I came here." "Now we do not know what our fate will be." The Greek migration minister describes himself as "hardline" on immigration. "It's clear a country cannot accept such pressure from migration and not react," Thanos Plevris defended the government's new measures. He claimed that Crete had been receiving "one, two, three thousand people a day" from Libya when it stepped in, though he then scaled that back to "close to a thousand" in three days, when challenged. Plevris has no qualms about withholding the right to request asylum, suggesting that Sudanese refugees could simply stay in Libya. "I want to be completely honest. We try to strike a balance between respect for their rights and respects for the people in Greece," the minister was firm. "Anyone who enters Greek territory over the next three months knows they are violating Greek law." The European Commission says it's "looking into" the move. A spokesperson told the BBC the situation was "an exception" because the surge in small boat arrivals had "possible consequences in terms of European security". Poland also halted asylum applications on its eastern border back in March, though with various exceptions. Greece itself did so previously in 2020 during an increase in arrivals from Turkey. Certain obligations of the European Convention on Human Rights can be overridden "in time of war or other public emergency threatening the life of the nation". Whether the current situation constitutes such a grave threat to either Poland or Greece is much disputed. "This article is for war or a massive uprising," argues Dimitris Fourakis, a lawyer who works extensively with migrants in Crete and sees a troubling trend across Europe. He warns that detention centres will quickly fill up, too, as "sending migrants back" is easy to say but extremely difficult to do. "I think it's a decision that is completely illegal. It's a very big step, very wrong step. And I think the best they can is to stop it immediately," the lawyer says. The increase in small boat arrivals came just as the beaches and bars of Crete were filling up for the summer and the migration minister says protecting the tourist industry is his priority. "I've never seen any migrants," admits Andreas Lougiakis, a restaurant owner in the pretty village of Paleochora on the southern coast who says the boats mostly reach the tiny island of Gavdos. Even talk of their arrival is bad for business though. "We feel sad for these people of course, but... people think this place is full of immigrants; no beaches available, no place," Andreas says. "We are just worried for our business and for our families." The suspension of asylum is part of a much broader crackdown on irregular migrants here. The minister plans to jail all those who fail to leave Greece when their asylum request is rejected and use electronic tags for surveillance. He has also promised a "drastic review" of benefits. Claiming that "millions" in North Africa are poised to cross to Europe, citing conversations in Libya, Plevris suggests other countries should be grateful for his resolve. "You should know that if the countries on the border of the EU do not take tough measures, then all this flow of migrants will be directed towards your societies," he warns. "Greece used to say it before but back then, no-one listened." Each evening, as the sky over Crete turns orange, the coast guard escorts a group of migrants to port and on to the night passenger ferry for Athens. When the number of arrivals climbed earlier this month, they struggled to find space on board. The minister insists the suspension of asylum rights is a temporary step, most likely only for summer. High winds rather than government resolve seems to have slowed the flow of boats for now. But the move has raised concerns about how readily governments can discard a fundamental right in the name of security. It also leaves huge questions for those like Mustafa from Sudan, who fled war, and have now been detained in Europe. — BBC
Saudi Gazette
2 days ago
- Saudi Gazette
Hawaiians cram roads away from coasts as tsunami waves arrive
LOS ANGELES — Many Hawaiians have heeded official advice to leave coastal areas, after a powerful earthquake thousands of miles away near Russia caused tsunami waves to reach the US state and other parts of the Pacific. Waves several feet high were recorded on the islands of Maui, Oahu and Hawaii on Tuesday evening, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, urging people to take "urgent action" to protect lives and property. The centre later downgraded its tsunami warning for Hawaii to a tsunami advisory, though cautioned that flooding was still possible. Governor Josh Green struck a hopeful tone, saying he had yet to see a "wave of consequence" in the state. He had earlier advised people in low-lying areas to move to higher ground, and noted that that roads were getting busy as people evacuated their homes. Other areas of the US west coast - including California and Alaska - made their own preparations while under a lesser tsunami advisory from the National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC).Follow live updates on the tsunamiAn NTWC warning means that widespread flooding is expected or occurring, while an advisory indicates that there is a potential for strong currents or waves that could be Dr Lucy Jones anticipated that the waves could damage harbours and waterfront properties in Hawaii - and possibly in California - but would not cause a catastrophic loss of life in the tallest waves could be several feet high in Hawaii, Dr Jones noted, but by comparison, they reached 42ft (13m) during a deadly tsunami in Japan in Hawaiians have taken no on Maui, which was devastated by wildfires two years ago, were among those who moved to higher ground while the warning was in Dorn told the BBC that he was no stranger to tsunami warnings, having lived a block away from the ocean in the coastal city of Kihei, on Maui, for 30 years. But he and his wife were treating this one differently."We try and take them all seriously, but most people kind of take them a bit lightly," he said of the warning sirens that had been blaring since the first alert was and his wife had evacuated to higher ground and were planning to spend the night in their van at an inland shopping Dorn said that before leaving their home, he had moved his electronics up to their loft, hoping that even if seawater penetrates the building it would not reach the biggest concern was the traffic, especially if electrical poles fell and blocked roads."Traffic's always a problem, and its getting worse. And it's at its worst in any emergency like this," he Maui resident, Roger Pleasanton, told the BBC that the traffic was "like New York City right now"."I was going to go to the grocery store, but I think I may have to skip the groceries and get out of here," he Maui prepared for the arrival of the waves, shelters were opened and water facilities were shut off to protect them from possible had been 10 years since Felicia Johnson, a lifelong resident of the island, last fled from a tsunami. Late on Tuesday, she again found herself moving to higher Johnson, 47, had watched the water level recede and then rise significantly - describing a pattern typically seen with tsunamis."It's eerily weird," she exclaimed, while packing her truck to spend a night with her family and friends in the compared the situation to the fire that hit Lahaina two years ago, devastating the island and its community."All I can do is leave the house. I'm leaving, so I'm definitely worried something's coming. But I mean, what can you cry about?"We went through this with the fires, and there was no warning, and it was just so devastating. Now, we have so much warning that if we don't go it's our fault."Waves reaching 5.7ft (1.74m) have been recorded at Kahului, Maui, and one of 4.9ft was recorded in Hilo, management authorities warned people to remain outside the coastal evacuation zone until the all-clear was California, the first waves were comparatively small. The first measurements from the National Tsunami Warning Center show a wave of 1.6ft hitting Arena Cove, north of San Monterey to the south, a height of 1.4ft was National Weather Service (NWS) warned of potentially higher crests near Port San Luis, roughly halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. People were being asked to avoid the Manhattan Beach in Los Angeles County, some were relaxed about the Mejia, 25, and his two cousins were packing up their longboards in their convertible when his mom called."She said, 'Did you see there was a huge earthquake and there's maybe gonna be a tsunami?' I was like, 'No, I've been in the water!'"Instead of speeding off, the trio sat in their car and peered out at the ocean, talking about heading back in and riding tsunami tsunami evacuation route signs line many roads along the US west Canada, wave heights have so far remained below 1ft. — BBC
