REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KEDIRI - Cold lava streaming from Mount Kelud and flowing into River Konto inundated farming areas in Kandangan sub-district, Pare district and Badas sub-district, Kediri district, East Java Province.
"Based on our colleagues monitoring this morning, the cold lava flow into River Kontor is back to normal, but we are still collecting data on the damages done to the farming areas," Dipo, a member of the Inter-Indonesian Community Radio (RAPI), stated on Wednesday.
The status of Mount Kelud, which erupted on February 13, had risen from Advisory (second level) to Watch (third level) on February 10, and the safe zone had been marked at a radius of 10 km and above from the volcanos top.
In Karang Tengah village, Kandangan sub-district, the cold lava submerged 50 hectares of farming areas and destroyed a dyke. A poultry farm with around 15 thousand chicken was swept away by the cold lava and the material loss is estimated at 40 million IDR.
A road connecting Blimbing and Wangkalkerep villages was cut off for a length of around 20 meters. In Klampingan village, a house was swept away by the cold lava. Following the eruption, Mount Kelud is estimated to hold about 50 million cubic meters of lava on its slopes. The cold lava could stream down any time particularly when it rains. Three main rivers whose upstream are on Mount Kelud are Petung Kobong, Sumber Agung and Gedog.
The major explosive eruption of the 1,731-meter volcano could be heard in Solo (Central Java) and Yogyakarta, which lie around 200 km away. It spewed gravel and ash reaching up to West Nusa Tenggara and West Java provinces, which are hundreds of kilometers away.
Mount Kelud is located at the border of Blitar and Kediri districts, East Java Province. The mount's last major eruption was in 1990, when it spewed ash and lava that killed more than 30 people and injured hundreds. In 1919, the volcanos powerful explosion reportedly could be heard hundreds of kilometers away and claimed at least 5,160 lives.
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