Volcano on party island erupts for second time in a week
Incredible images captured Mount Agung erupting (Picture: AP) A volcano on the Indonesian holiday is..
A volcano on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali has erupted for the second time in less than a week.
International airlines have cancelled flights to and from the party island after Mt Agung’s second eruption today.
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Clouds of ash and steam were sent at least 1,500 meters into the sky, causing several airlines to change flight plans.
Despite Indonesia’s disaster management authorities saying it’s safe to fly to the island, Qantas, Virgin, Dutch airline KLM and Jetstar have all cancelled flights.
It is being described as significantly stronger than the first eruption on Tuesday.
‘Tourism in Bali is still safe, except in the danger zone around Mt Agung,’ Indonesia’s Disaster Mitigation Agency said in a statement, referring to a 7.5 km area around the summit.
‘There has not been an increase in seismic and volcanic acivity after the first eruption and until this afternoon.’
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Authorities have kept Mt Aung’s emergency status at level 3.
The agency also called for calm among the local community, from which around 25,000 people have been evacuated from the slopes of the volcano to hundreds of refuge shelters.
After that eruption, Singapore updated its travel advisory for the island, warning that ash clouds could ‘severely disrupt air travel’.
J A Barata, a spokesman for Indonesia’s Transportation Ministry, said flights in and out of Bali remained ‘normal’.
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‘Tactical guidance for departure and arrival aircraft has been applied. This hasn’t endangered any flights,’ he said.
Bali is famous for its surf, beaches and temples and attracted nearly 5 million visitors last year.
But business has slumped in areas around the volcano since September when Mt Agung’s volcanic tremors began to increase.
Tourism is Indonesia’s fourth-biggest earner of foreign currency after natural resources such as coal and palm oil.
The volcano towers over eastern Bali at a height of just over 3,000 metres.
When it last erupted in 1963 it killed more than 1,000 people and destroyed several villages.
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