Indonesia raises alert, reroutes flights around erupting volcano

Authorities in Indonesia have rerouted all flights around the erupting Anak Krakatoa volcano, days after it is believed to have triggered a devastating tsunami that killed hundreds of people and caused widespread destruction.

The move on Thursday by Indonesia’s air traffic control agency AirNav came as the volcanic island located in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra continued spewing columns of ash into the air.

“All flights are rerouted due to Krakatoa volcano ash on red alert,” AirNav said in a statement.

Authorities also raised the volcano’s alert level to the second-highest – “stand-by” – and widened an exclusion zone around it to 5km.

A crater collapse on Anak Krakatoa at high tide on Saturday night is thought to have sent waves smashing into the Indonesian shoreline, engulfing fishing villages and popular resorts along the coasts of western Java and southern Sumatra.

The confirmed death toll is 430 people, with at least 159 others missing. Almost 1,500 people have been injured and thousands more have been displaced.