It last erupted on 13 February 2014, destroying the lava dome and ejecting boulders, stones and ashes up to West Java about 500 kilometres (310 mi) from Mount Kelud.

According to Nagarakretagama canto 1 stanza 4 and 5 (composed by Mpu Prapanca in 1365), King Hayam Wuruk of Majapahit was born in 1256 Saka, which corresponds to 1334 CE, the same year that Mount Kelud erupted.

Prapanca argued that this was the divine sign that Batara Gurunata has manifest Himself on earth, reincarnated as the Javanese king.

[4] This account also describes the local Javanese psyche at that time (and even up to present) that regarded the natural event such as volcanic eruption, as the divine sign from the gods.

On 16 October, Indonesian authorities ordered the evacuation of 30,000 residents living near Kelud, after scientists placed the volcano on the highest alert level, meaning that they expected an imminent eruption.

Surabaya, Indonesia's third-largest urban area and home to one of the country's busiest airports, is 90 kilometres (56 mi) to the northwest.

[12] However, on the early morning of 4 November, Mount Kelud spewed ash 500 metres (1,600 ft) into the air, indicating a full eruption was taking place.

[13] "The eruption isn't over," Saut Simatupang, head of Indonesian Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Agency, said.

Smoke rose more than two kilometres (1.2 mi; 6,600 ft) into the air, and ash dusted several villages around the volcano.

The ashfall meant companies such as Unilever Indonesia had difficulty distributing their products throughout affected areas.

Workers covered the iconic stupas and statues of Borobudur temple to protect the structure from volcanic ash.

Tempo reported that hotels in Yogyakarta had posted losses of Rp 22 billion (US$2.2 million) as more than 80 percent of reservations were canceled owing to the ash.

The Indonesian military used water cannons to clear roads, and were later involved in reconstruction efforts in the areas surrounding Kelud.

[40] By early March most of the 12,304 buildings destroyed or damaged during the eruptions had been repaired, at an estimated cost of Rp 55 billion (US$5.5 million).