Bali volcano update: Will the volcano erupt again? How many people have been evacuated?
The ash column towered 6,000 feet above Mount Agung after another eruption occurred at 12.20pm local time (5.20am BST). Ash also rained on the volcano’s slopes. This is the third time the volcano has erupted in less than a week. Will the volcano erupt again?
Bali’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho has warned in a series of tweets that “successive eruptions occurring potential its still high”. This suggests Mount Agung could erupt again, particularly as it has been active since last November. However, Mr Nugroho added: “All airports are operating normally. The Standby Status. Don't be afraid to visit Bali. Bali is safe.” The first eruption took place on June 28, as ash was blown into the hemisphere.
REUTERS/GETTY Bali volcano update: Agung has erupted again
The ash cloud caused in 115 international flights and 203 domestic ones to be cancelled on Friday, which affected nearly 27,000 travellers. Several small eruptions occurred on Monday, with high volcanic ash around 1,000 to 2,000 metres. The volcano also exploded again on Monday. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency deemed this eruption as “strombolian", which is the mildest form of explosive volcanic eruption.
EPA Bali volcano update: Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes
However, golden lava still cascaded down the summit. The volcano had a huge eruption in 1963, which lasted almost a year. This massive explosion is estimated to have killed between 1,100 and 1,900 people. Lava flowed 4.5 miles from the summit crater and ash fell as far away as Bandung and Jakarta in western Java - a distance of about 1,000km from the volcano.
REUTERS Bali volcano update: Hundreds of flights were cancelled on Friday
The volcano had been dormant for 120 years before that. How many people have been evacuated? Nobody has yet been injured by the eruption which occurred last week. Indonesia's national disaster mitigation agency spokesman Sutopo Nugroho said on Monday: "Residents have started evacuating voluntarily.”
The most striking pictures from Mount Agung's eruption Mon, July 2, 2018 Extraordinary pictures show Bali's Mount Agung erupting again. Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 28 Mount Agung erupts as its lava incubation reaches 2000 meter distance, in Bali