Thousands flee as Bali raises volcano alert

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

Massive columns of thick gray smoke that have been belching from Mount Agung since last week have now begun shooting more than three kilometers (two miles) into the sky, forcing

Some 40,000 frightened people volcano but as many as 100,000 will likely be forced to leave, di raising the alert to its highest level.

The exclusion zone around Agung, which is 75 kilometers ( 47 miles) from the beachside tourist hub of Kuta, has also been widened to 10 kilometers.

“Continuous ash puffs are sometimes accompanied by explosive eruptions and a weak booming sound,” the National Board for Disaster Management said.

observed at night. This indicates the potential for a larger eruption is imminent.”

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

Balinese Hindus take part in a ceremony, where they pray near Mount Agung in hope of preventing a volcanic eruption, in Muntig village of the Kubu sub- district in Karangasem Regency on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali on Monday. and many returned to their homes. “I’m very concerned because

However, on Saturday the I left my house behind and I’m mountain sent smoke up into the also worried about family,” said air for the second time in a week in 36-year-old farmer Putu Suyasa, what volcanologists call a phreatic eruption—caused by the heating from a village eight kilometers and expansion of groundwater. away from the volcano.

Then on Monday so-called cold “The mountain is spewing thick er smoke than before.” mud flows and often a prelude Mt. Agung last erupted in to the blazing orange lava seen in 1963, killing about 1,600 people many volcanic eruptions. in one of the deadliest eruptions in a country that has nearly 130 active volcanoes.

The airport in Bali’s capital Denpasar, a top holiday destination that attracts millions of foreign tourists every year, has been closed, a move expected to affect tens of thousands of passengers.

“I have to make sure that the runway has no ash,” said Bali airport’s general manager Yanus Suorayogi.