Thousands flee as Bali volcano rumbles

KARANGASEM (BALI): A rumbling volcano on the resort island of Bali could erupt at any moment, authorities warned yesterday as they raised alert levels to maximum, accelerated a mass evacuation and closed the main airport, leaving tourists stranded.

Massive columns of thick grey smoke that have been belching from Mount Agung since last week have now begun shooting more than 3km into the sky.

The airport closure left about 59,000 travellers stranded and affected 445 flights, including 196 international routes, according to its operator PT Angkasa Pura.

Some 40,000 frightened people have fled their homes around the volcano but as many as 100,000 will likely be forced to leave, disaster agency officials said.

The exclusion zone around Agung, which is 75km from the beachside tourist hub of Kuta, has also been widened to 10km, AFP reports.

Agung rumbled back to life in September, forcing the evacuation of 140,000 people living nearby. Its activity decreased in late October and many returned to their homes.

However, on Saturday, the mountain sent smoke up into the air for the second time in a week in what volcanologists call a phreatic eruption – caused by the heating and expansion of groundwater.

Then yesterday, so-called cold lava flows appeared – similar to mud flows and often a prelude to the blazing orange lava seen in many volcanic eruptions.

Mt Agung last erupted in 1963, killing about 1,600 people in one of the deadliest eruptions in a country that has nearly 130 active volcanoes.