Mount
Agung’s cone lit up in orange when it erupted once Saturday evening and
three more times early Sunday, the second time in less than a week. Ash
shot …
Bali volcano erupts, dusting villages with ash and disrupting flights
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Image 1 of 2
A volcano on the Indonesian island of
Bali erupted several times over the weekend, emitting thick plumes of
smoke that covered nearby resorts and villages with ash and prompted
airport closures and flight cancellations that left thousands of
tourists stranded.
Mount Agung’s cone lit up in orange
when it erupted once Saturday evening and three more times early Sunday,
the second time in less than a week. Ash shot up 13,000 feet into the
atmosphere and drifted to the neighboring Lombok Island, forcing its
airport to close on Sunday until at least 6 a.m. the next day, an
official at the airport told The Associated Press. Bali’s airport
remained open on Sunday with flights expected to take off after a slew
of cancellations on Saturday.
"Tourism in Bali is still safe, except in the danger
(zone) around Mount Agung," Indonesia’s Disaster Mitigation Agency said
in a statement, adding that people within the 4.6-mile exclusion zone to
“immediately evacuate” in an “orderly and calm manner,” according to
the BBC.
Villagers on their motorbikes after evacuating from their homes which are located near to the crater of Mount Agung.
"We weren't notified by Jetstar in advance of us getting here (to Bali's airport)," said Australian tourist George Bennick. "So we are very disappointed about that."
Nearby resorts and villages were covered with less than half an inch of volcanic ash as of Sunday, disaster officials said. Local soldiers and police distributed masks for people on the islands.
Made Sugiri, an employee at Mahagiri Panoramic Resort, located around 6 miles from the crater, said a thin layer of volcanic ash reached the area.
"We are out of the danger zone, but like other resorts in the region, of course the eruptions cause a decrease in the number of visitors," he said.
"I think these latest eruptions are more dangerous, given the thick clouds it's releasing," he said. "Certainly we worry, but we have to wait and see. Hopefully there is no significant eruption."
More than 140,000 people fled Bali in September when Mount Agung showed signs of activity for the first time in more than half a century. Many residents returned home after the alert was lowered on Oct. 29, but about 25,000 residents are still in temporary shelters.
A view of the Mount Agung volcano erupting, in Karangasem, Bali island, Indonesia, early Sunday.
Agung also had a minor eruption on Tuesday, but authorities have not raised the alert status from the second-highest level that would include more people in the exclusion area, forcing them to evacuate. Though ash from the volcano could rain down for at least another month, no major eruption is expected, government volcanologist Gede Suantika said. A red-yellow light visible in ash above the mountain was the reflection of lava in the crater.
Indonesia sits on the "Pacific Ring of Fire" and has more than 120 active volcanoes. The volcano's last major eruption, in 1963, killed about 1,100 people.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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