Indonesia - Kaliurang hotels still open for business amid Mount Merapi eruption

Following the phreatic eruption of Mount Merapi on Friday morning, Yogyakarta has been experiencing falling volcanic ash from the morning until the afternoon. However, hotel operations in Kaliurang have not been affected.

Kalyana Resort Kaliurang manager Yohanes Widi Astono said to KompasTravel, “So far there are no warnings for the guests, as the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has not upgraded Mt. Merapi’s status.”

According to Yohanes, closure instructions have only been announced for tourist attractions around Mt. Merapi. Kalyana Resorts, located 7 kilometers from Merapi, is operating as per usual. 

“We experienced falling volcanic ash, but now it’s being cleaned up,” Yohanes said. 

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 However, he admits that several guests have canceled their bookings for the following couple of days. 

Similar to Kalyana Resort, @K Hotel in Kaliurang, Yogyakarta, is also remaining open. 

“@K Hotel is not affected by the Merapi eruption. We only experienced volcanic ash.” said @K Hotel Kaliurang assistant sales manager Sasha. The hotel, which is located only 8 km from Mt. Merapi, is still accepting guests, with several even prolonging their stay. 

Both Yohanes and Sasha said every hotel within the Kaliurang area already had disaster mitigation protocols prepared, including guest evacuation and hotel security. Currently, the hotels are waiting for official information from the government about Mt. Merapi’s status. The protocols have been in place at the hotels in Kaliurang since the volcano erupted in 2010.

 

Source - TheJakartaPost 

Mount Merapi National Park (TNGM) has closed all access routes to the mountain following the volcanic eruption on Friday morning at 7:32 a.m.

“All access ways to the tourist attractions, including hiking trails, are closed,”  

Mount Merapi National Park head Ammy Nurwati told KompasTravel on Friday morning.

Ammy noted that the national park management would keep an eye on tourists and mountaineers using the park’s facilities, as well as clear the summit area of hikers, “We are monitoring tourists [in the] inner part of the TNGM. The lava tour outside is also under our observation.”

Hiking on Mount Merapi is banned until further notice following the phreatic eruption.

 

#Philippines - Phivolcs warns of catastrophic mudflow from Mayon

LEGAZPI CITY — The threat of catastrophic mudflow is building on the slopes of Mount Mayon where nearly 90,000 residents have been moved out of harm’s way, authorities said on Tuesday.

Mayon has spewed millions of tons of ash, rocks, lava and debris in less than three weeks, much of it loosely lodged on its burnt slopes and which experts warn could be dislodged by heavy rain.

Activity continued overnight with “energetic lava effusion,” while previously extruded lava was also collapsing on the crater, only to be pushed out again as debris, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said in its latest bulletin.

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Loud booming sounds, like that of thunder, accompanied the eruptions, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer near the mountain.

“The public is strongly advised to be vigilant and desist from entering the 8-kilometer radius danger zone, and to be additionally vigilant against pyroclastic density currents, lahar and sediment-laden stream flows,” the bulletin said.
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Pyroclastic currents are the superheated clouds of gas, ash and other volcanic debris that burn everything in their path as they speed down the slopes of the 2,460-meter volcano in Albay province.

The institute said these materials were building blocks for lahar mammoth debris flows that could find their way into streams and rivers and mow down surrounding communities.

An earlier Mayon eruption passed without any casualties in 2006, but four months later a typhoon unleashed an avalanche of volcanic mud from its slopes, killing about 1,000 people.
On Saturday, Phivolcs issued its first lahar warning on Mayon this year due to incessant rain that is usual in the region at this time of the year.

A day later, Phivolcs made a video recording of lahar flowing down a river near Daraga town south of the volcano, though it did not cause any damage or casualties.

Source - inquirer.net

Philippines - Regions share this Number of Mayon evacuees surges to about 84,500 - local officials

The number of evacuees in Albay province swelled to almost 84,500 as threats of a possible major explosion of the restless Mt. Mayon persists.

In a report of Legazpi City’s Provincial Disaster Operation Center issued on Wednesday, a total of 84,425 individuals or 21,987 families from the 61 barangays within the 8-kilometer danger zone are currently sheltered in 79 evacuations centers located in different Albay towns.

This figure is 15,000 individuals or 3,696 families higher than the recorded 69,425 individuals or 18,291 families evacuated from the danger zone as of Tuesday.

 Meanwhile, the Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology (Phivolcs) documented from Tuesday morning until Wednesday early morning a total of 298 volcanic earthquakes, 52 rock fall events, and four pyroclastic density currents generated from lava collapse.

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“The public is strongly advised to be vigilant and desist from entering the eight kilometer-radius danger zone, and to be additionally vigilant against pyroclastic density current, lahars, and sediment-laden stream flows along channels draining the edifice,” the Phivolcs said.         /kga

Responding to appeals for help, the Philippine Daily Inquirer is extending its relief to the families affected by the recent volcanic activities of Mayon.

Cash donations may be deposited in the Inquirer Foundation Corp. Banco De Oro (BDO) Current Account No: 007960018860.

Inquiries may be addressed to Inquirer’s Corporate Affairs office through Connie Kalagayan at 897-4426, ckalagayan@inquirer.com.ph and Bianca Kasilag-Macahilig at 897-8808 local 352, bkasilag@inquirer.com.ph.

Source - Inquires

 

Indonesia - Tambora festival returns with more locations

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Festival Pesona Tambora (Tambora Charms Festival) is set to return April 5 to 11 in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) for the third time.
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In addition to commemorating the volcano's massive eruption back in 1815, the event also aims to promote Sumbawa, especially for tourism.
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NTB Tourism Agency head Mohammad Faozal told The Jakarta Post in Mataram on Friday that this year's festival would be held across five cities and regencies on Sumbawa, namely the regencies of West Sumbawa, Sumbawa, Dompu and Bima, and the city of Bima. Last year's event was only held in Dompu and Bima regencies.
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"The peak of the event on April 11 will still take place in the Ndoro Ncanga savanna area at the foot of Mount Tambora, which is part of Dompu regency," he said.
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According to the schedule, the event will kick off with a three-day 320-kilometer Tambora Challenge ultra marathon, that will start from Mantar tourism village in West Sumbawa, as well as an international paragliding event, which has been dubbed "the village above the clouds". During previous ultra marathons, which require participants to finish the race in 20 hours, only two participants in 2015 and one in 2016 made it to the finish line.
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(Read also: Tambora festival expected to boost foreign arrivals in NTB)
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Meanwhile, Sumbawa regency is set to hold "One Night at Loka". Loka is the palace complex of King Sumbawa that has been declared cultural heritage. The city of Bima and Bima regency will join the festivity through Lawata Beach Festival and a seminar on the region's tourism and maritime potential.
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A number of travel packages have reportedly been booked for this year's festival, including a two-day and three-night package where travelers can stay for one night in Mataram and go camping in Ndoro Ncanga the next day.
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Co-organizer Kompas Media community director Rusdi Amral said that the company decided to commit to the event in 2015 to help develop Sumbawa's tourism potential. "Hopefully the region's tourism sector can boost its local economy," he added.
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