Volcanic ash from Mount Sinabung to reach southwest Malaysia

A thin layer of ash from Mount Sinabung, a volcano in the western island of Sumatra, is expected to arrive in parts of south-west peninsula Malaysia by Wednesday morning, local media reported Wednesday. The affected areas could include coastal regions of Negri Sembilan, Malacca as well as Muar, Batu Pahat, Pontian and Kulaijaya in Johor, said Muhammad Helmi Abdullah, director of National Weather Forecast Center. He said currently there was not too much ash and it may cause a little haze. An advisory about the volcanic ash had been sent to the aviation industry, he added. The Meteorological Department said in a statement Monday that volcanic ash from Mount Sinabung could be blown towards the southern states due to a northwesterly wind that is expected to persist until Thursday. It said the flight operations may be affected and the visibility could be reduced. An official from the Department of Civil Aviation said that flight operations throughout Malaysia were currently unaffected, and the standard operating procedures would be implemented if the visibility would be reduced. According to Mokhtar Abdul Majid, director of Johor Baru's state Department of Environment, the air quality there will be closely monitored and they had found no problem with the air quality as of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Fifteen people have been killed by impacts of Sibanung volcano eruption that has been ongoing since four months ago. All of those killed were hit by hot clouds following the eruptions in locations already declared unsafe zones by the authority. The latest eruption happened over the weekend.