Volcano turns entire island into world of ash

The Indonesian volcano Kelud exploded with a powerful eruption on February 13, killing three people and prompting the evacuation of 100,000 people. The eruption sent a large plume of ash 10 miles (17 kilometers) high into the sky, drifting west across Java and over the Indian Ocean, causing the shutdown of several airports.

Volcano turns entire island into world of ash

Satellite image: NASA Earth Observatory


Alida Szabo, Hungarian film-maker, photographer has been working in Yogyakarta and her photos show us what is it like to live beside some ever-active volcanos.

As she says:

Kelud is one of the 47 active volcanoes of Java, so eruptions like the latest one are quite common in the area. The streets became empty, everybody is disciplined and stays home, who steps out always wears a mask. After three days the long-awaited rain arrived on Sunday and washed away most of the ashes from the buildings and vegetation, but the soil and the roads are still covered by a thick layer of ash.

Alida Szabo is a Berlin-based Hungarian film-maker and photographer. Currently she works on a documentary in Yogyakarta, about a girl who serves the sultan. You can follow Szabo's work on her website, in the moving pictures of Hazard Entertainment and on her Flickr-page.

