Eruption blankets Java in ash
The Mount Kelud volcano erupted late on Thursday night on the heavily populated Indonesian island of Java, sending a huge plume of ash and sand 10 miles into the air and forcing the closure of three airports.
Mount Kelud is 87 miles south of Indonesia's second biggest city Surabaya, a major industrial center. The cloud from the eruption was seen as far as 5.5 miles to the west, and forced the shutdown of airports at Surabaya and the cities of Yogyakarta and Solo.
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Ash from Mount Kelud covers a Garuda Indonesia airplane at Adi Sucipto airport in Yogyakarta, Feb. 14, 2014.Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Ash raises from Mount Kelud's eruption, as seen from Sugih Waras village, Feb. 14, 2014.Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Soldiers and volunteers cover the stupas of Borobudur Buddhist temple with plastic sheets to prevent ash from Mount Kelud from damaging them, at Mungkid village in Magelang, Feb. 14, 2014.Yogyakarta, Indonesia
A villager who was evacuated from her home due to Mount Kelud's eruptions, holds her daughter as she sleeps at a temporary shelter in Sumber Agung village, Feb. 14, 2014.Yogyakarta, Indonesia
A villager walks near houses covered by ash from the eruption of Mount Kelud at Ngantang village in Malang, Feb. 16, 2014.
More than 56,000 people were forced to flee their homes and four people were killed when Mount Kelud erupted late on Thursday in East Java province, coating cities and airports as far as 310 miles away in a layer of ash and stranding thousands of passengers.