Bali airport closed as Mt Agung eruption intensifies

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Indonesian authorities have ordered the cancellation of flights from Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali for the next 24 hours after the alert for rumbling Mount Agung Volcano was raised to the highest level on Monday morning.

Authorities upgraded the orange warning issued on Thursday evening to red – the highest – for a possible eruption. "All flights flying from 7 a.m. Monday to 7 p.m. Tuesday have been canceled," said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesperson for Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG).

Airport officials estimated that nearly 60,000 international and domestic passengers had been affected by the flight cancellations.

The Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation (VONA) also raised the highest red code, cautioning the aviation industry that eruption and ash emission are continuing.

According to the country’s disaster management agency, the rate of the eruption has changed from phreatic to magmatic phase. "The magmatic phase eruption is accompanied by a constant thick column of ash reaching a height of 2,000-3,400 meters from the peak," the agency maintained.

In the phreatic phase, magma inside the volcano heats up the water leading to the release of steam. The magmatic phase is more dangerous as the rocks covering the magma start breaking up, leading to a flow of magma from the volcano.

People watch as muddy waters flow down a river near Mount Agung, in Bali, Indonesia. /Reuters Photo

The warning has been issued to evacuate and stop human activities in the estimated zone of hazard within a radius of 8 km from the Mt Agung crater. Evacuation has been initiated at Amerta Buana, Bebandem, Dukuh, Tulamben, Baturinggit, Sukadana, Pempatan. Kubu, Datah, Nawakerti, Pidpid, Buanagiri, Jungutan, Sebudi, Duda, and Besakih villages.

At present continuous ash puffs are sometimes accompanied by explosive eruptions along with a weak sound that can be heard up to 12 km from the volcano.

Evacuations initiated

Villagers have started migrating to safer places or relief centers since November 25 after rumbling and tremors from the volcano increased. Relief agencies are helping villagers also transfer their cattle to safe animal shelters.

Villagers are facing evacuation for the second time: the frequent tremors in September forced Indonesian authorities to launch an evacuation of more than 140,000 villagers residing within a 1-km radius from the volcano. Evacuees started returning to their villages after the eruptions were delayed by weeks.

Volcanologists are predicting moderate to heavy ash fall in case the magnitude of eruption increases in coming days. Massive eruptions could also cause Lahars or fast-moving cold lava triggered by rainfall.

Two major eruptions of Mount Agung took place in 1963, killing more than 1,100 people. The first eruptions continued for a month from February to March, and the second wave happened in May.

The eruptions in 1963 had a significant impact on the climate, with vast amounts of aerosols injected into the higher atmosphere. The aerosols brought down the global temperature by 1 to 4 degrees Celsius.