Indonesia says 100,000 must evacuate from Bali volcano zone

November 28, 2017 | 09:51

(0) user say

JAKARTA: About 100,000 people must evacuate from the danger zone around Mount Agung volcano on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, officials said Monday (Nov 27) after warning of an imminent eruption.

Indonesian authorities have now raised the highest alert warning for Bali's Mount Agung volcano. (Photo: AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka)

About 40,000 people have already left communities near Mount Agung but that figure is set to more than double, the Disaster Mitigation Agency said, as massive columns of thick grey smoke spew from the volcano.

An eruption could be imminent officials warned, as they raised the alert to the highest level and expanded the exclusion zone to 10km.

A spokesman of Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency, Sutopo Purwo Nogoho, said there are still people within the zone who have declined to evacuate.

"They say there is no danger as their area was not affected by the 1963 eruption," the spokesman tweeted.

Massive columns of thick grey smoke have been pouring out of Mount Agung since last week and they shot more than 3km into the sky early on Monday, prompting the island's international airport to be closed, leaving thousands of tourists stranded.

AFP

What the stars mean:

★ Poor ★ ★ Promising ★★★ Good ★★★★ Very good ★★★★★ Exceptional