Cancel vacation plans to Bali, volcano Mount Agung may erupt soon; 35,000 locals vacate tourist island

Planning vacation in Indonesia or have you booked your dream honeymoon in Bali? Chances are that you will have to cancel your plans indefinitely. 

Indonesian holiday spot Bali's Mount Agung is on the verge of erupting. And if it does, it is likely to leave the tourist destination inhospitable for at least a year. 

According to news websites, the last eruption was in 1963 and killed more than 1,100 people. Ash was hurled more than 20 kilometres in the air and even reached Jakarta, over 1,000 kilometres away.

At the time Agung remained active for about a year.

Experts say that was a massive eruption, far bigger than anything recently seen in Indonesia.

It's why authorities have spent the last several days evacuating more than 35,000 people from areas that might be affected.

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Authorities raised the volcano’s alert status to the highest level on Friday following a “tremendous increase” in seismic activity. 

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency has praised the welcoming response of local communities on Bali to the flood of evacuees.

Thousands are living in temporary shelters, sport centres, village halls and with relatives or friends.

Truck driver Wayan Suparta said he and his family left their village 5-km from the mountain several days ago, bringing just clothes and blankets to a temporary camp in Rendang.

The 35-year-old said he sold the family’s cow because they don’t know when they’ll be able to return.

Officials have said there is no current danger to people in other parts of Bali, a popular tourist island famous for its surfing, beaches and elegant Hindu culture.The mountain, 72-km to the northeast of the tourist hotspot of Kuta, is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia.

The country of thousands of islands is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

(With Inputs from PTI)