Bali’s Mount Agung volcano eruption latest – is it safe to travel there and where is the Indonesian island?

THE Mount Agung volcano in Bali has erupted for the first time in more than half a century, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee the Indonesian island's "danger zone."

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled and up to 120,000  travellers have been stranded as huge plums of thick, dark ash spews high into the sky - here's the full lowdown on what is going on.

AP:Associated Press

A view of the Mount Agung volcano erupting in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia, on Monday, November 27 When did Mount Agung erupt?

The Bali volcano has erupted for a second time sending a plume of volcanic ash and steam over 6,000 metres into the skies.

Indonesia has issued a red aviation warning, with Lombok airport closed and scores of flights cancelled.

Regional authorities heightened flight warnings on Sunday as ash covered the surroundings and a red glow of what appeared to be magma was seen overnight.

It is believed the activity of Mount Agung has entered the magmatic eruption phase, where it is spewing ash and there is a possibility of another explosive eruption.

Virgin Australia cancelled all flights to and from Bali as a precautionary measure until conditions stabilise.

Indonesia's disaster agency has said Bali is "still safe" for tourists apart from a 7.5 kilometre (4.7 mile) zone around the volcano.

Up to 100,000 people have been ordered to evacuate the area around the volatile volcano.

The worried authorities are enforcing a six-mile exclusion zone around Mount Agung which has been hurling ash thousands of metres into the atmosphere since the weekend.

Government spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told a news conference in Jakarta that the danger zone affects 22 villages and about 90,000 to 100,000 people.

He said about 40,000 people have already evacuated but others have not left because they feel safe or don't want to abandon their livestock.

On Money, November 27, the alert level was raised to "stage four" as experts reported a large eruption was "imminent."

When could the Bali volcano erupt and how much damage could Mount Agung cause? What is the travel advice?

Ash from the volcano reached the Bali airport's airspace, triggering its closure early Monday.

More than 400 flights to and from Bali's airport were cancelled and up to 120,000 travellers have been stranded.

Some flights are now cancelled until after Christmas.

Travel disruptions will ripple around the globe as the island is one of Asia's top destinations, attracting 5 million visitors a year. December through the first week of January is one of the island's busy periods.

The airport's initial closure was for 24 hours until early Tuesday but authorities have now extended it to Wednesday.

Travelers can still leave Bali, though probably at significant cost, by taking a ferry from Gilimanuk port to Banyuwangi on Java island to the west and then travelling by car, train or plane to the Indonesian capital Jakarta for international connections.

Another possible route is a ferry to the neighbouring island of Lombok and then a flight to Java though ash temporarily closed Lombok's airport on Sunday and there could be further closures.

The government says it has provided 100 buses to transport people from the international airport to ferry ports.

Alternatively, visitors could wait to see if the airport reopens though there's likely to be long waiting lists for flights when it does.

Reuters

Villagers rescued by National Search and Rescue Agency are seen in a truck

Indonesia's tourism ministry said member hotels of the Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association will provide a night's free accommodation to guests affected by the airport closure.

Some governments are advising citizens to defer travel to the island. Malaysia's foreign ministry said all but non-urgent travel should be delayed while Australia, a big source of tourists for Bali, said people should be aware that ash clouds could also close other airports in Indonesia depending on weather conditions.

A spokesman for major Japanese travel bureau JTB Corp. said all tours set to depart Monday from Japan were cancelled because of the airport closure.

Yoshimi Tajima said some people can't change their travel dates and are switching to other destinations while others are changing the dates.

"What will happen from tomorrow is still unclear," she said.

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What happened in the run-up to the explosion?

Officials had warned that an eruption of Mount Agung on the tourist island of Bali is imminent with the active volcano in a "critical" phase.

Increasingly frequent tremors had been recorded amid a spike in volcanic activity.

Around 1,000 tremors were detected each day, indicating a flow of molten rock to the surface.

Bali governor I Made Mangku Pastika declared a state of emergency.

The fears prompted more than 140,000 people to flee the danger zone, around 45 miles from tourist resort Kuta.

The observation post for Mount Agung witnessed the volcano emitting a small plume most likely of water vapour on September 29. But there was no ash cloud.

A similar plume of steam was visible on October 19, when the volcano was hit by 1,052 small quakes.

The National Disaster Management Authority for Indonesia had raised the volcanic alert level for Mount Agung to level 4, the highest level possible.

This indicated an eruption was possible within 24 hours - but experts said it was impossible to say exactly when it would blow.

Senior seismologist Devy Kamil told the BBC: "There are some examples where you have swarms of activity for as long as six years… and it is not always ended by an eruption."

Indonesia's Centre for Volcanology of Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) and the Geology Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) warned all the signs said: "The potential for eruption is still high".

Reuters

A man shelters in a rescue centre amid fears of an eruption When was the last major eruption?

The volcano last erupted in 1963 killing more than 2,000 people.

Locals heard explosions in February that year when ash and lava began to flow from the crater.

Almost a month later a full eruption sent debris up to six miles into the air and devastated numerous villages.

After the initial blast it remained "active" for the next 11 months.

Chilling video shows what happens the moment a massive volcano eruption strikes a major city
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