Bali volcano eruption aerial pictures: Lava SPURTS out Mount Agung in incredible photos
BALI’S Mount Agung has been relentlessly erupting recently, sprouting a 2,000 foot tall ash could into the sky. Alongside the ash, Agung has now started spewing lava.
Bali volcano: CCTV captures moment Agung ERUPTS
Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport has reopened following the eruption of Mount Agung today.
The volcano, which also erupted last week, was responsible for grounding hundreds of flights to and from the resort.
People have also evacuated from communities affected near the base of the volcano, with 690 people so far having cleared out.
No-one outside of the marked exclusion zone is in any particular danger so far, and Bali’s main airport remains open, but the volcano has managed to create some dramatic scenes.
What is happening at Agung?
Mount Agung began flinging ash into the air, with future activity predicted by rumbling coming from the volcano.
The mountain was spotted creating “flares of incandescent lava”, which lit up the summit.
The lava coming from the volcano reached 2km (1.2 miles) from the crater, setting fire to forests on a high elevation.
The activity observed at the volcano is the biggest since last September according to authorities.
Indonesia’s National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said: “Mount Agung has experienced small eruptions several times.
“But on Monday night, people around Mount Agung were shocked by the eruption, the loud bang it produced and the hurling of incandescent rocks.”
The volcano has seen deadlier eruptions before, as in 1963 it killed 1,500 people and reigned destruction on the island.
Can you travel to Bali?
At the moment, Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah airport remains open, and all flight are operating normally, but this could quickly change if another eruption takes place.
In a weekend statement, Virgin Airlines said: “As this situation remains unpredictable flights may be cancelled at short notice if conditions deteriorate.”
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has not placed any travel restrictions on the island.
It is advised that anyone currently staying on the island stay outside of the 4km exclusion zone due to possible threat to life.
The FCO warns that if you are in the exclusion zone, “you should leave immediately.”
Mount Agung is part of the highly active Pacific ’Ring of Fire’ in which some of the world’s most active volcanoes reside.
Included among them is Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano which has now been erupting for almost two months.