50m high smoke column billowing from crater. Increasing frequency in tremors and lava activity. With ash emissions in the atmosphere, airborne flights across the region are at risk. Fears for tourism industry.
Denpasar (AsiaNews / Agencies) - About 100,000 people have been evacuated to Bali from the area around Agung Mountain, which is preparing for an eruption. There are growing fears for over 400,000 residents of the Karangasem districts.
The Indonesian Vulcanology Agency states that a 50m high smoke column is rising from the crater, with an increase in tremors and lava activity from the noisy 3,142 meters high volcano, one of the major tourist attractions on the island .
On September 19, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (Bnpb) stated that the alert level of Mount Agung rose to siaga (alert 3) as a result of increased volcanic activity.
A series of eruptions of Mount Agung between 1963 and 1964 caused the death of about 1,000 people and the wounded hundreds more. The Indonesian authorities ensure that tourists are not in danger, but most of them travel to and from Bali by plane. With the emission of ashes into the atmosphere, the eruption of the volcano risks interrupting flights across the region and hitting the tourist industry.