Bali: Officials raise volcano alert to highest level around Mount Agung

The alert for a volcano belching huge plumes of smoke on Indonesia's resort island of Bali has been raised to the highest level, officials said on Monday, with fears a significant eruption could be imminent.

The exclusion zone around Mount Agung, which is 75 km from the tourist hub of Kuta, has been widened to 10 km with people living in the exclusion zone being urged to evacuate.

 "The volcano's alert level has been raised to the highest level. Constant tremors can be felt." said senior state volcanologist Gede Suantika.

Huge plumes of smoke have been pouring out of the volcano since Tuesday and Suantika said it was belching thick grey smoke as high as 3,400 metres early today.

About 25,000 people living nearby the mountain have already left their homes and evacuated since Mount Agung first started to spew smoke Tuesday.

"Continuous ash puffs are sometimes accompanied by explosive eruptions accompanied by a weak sound of boom," the National Board for Disaster Management wrote on Facebook.

"The rays of fire are increasingly observed at night. This indicates the potential for a larger eruption is imminent."

National disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho called for people to stay calm.

The airport in Bali's capital Denpasar, a top holiday destination that attracts millions of foreign tourists every year, has been closed.

"Bali's airport has indeed been closed. We're still coordinating the next steps," airport spokesman Arie Ahsanurrohim told AFP.

Also Read: Volcanic eruptions spurred dawn of dinosaurs but how they survived it remains a mystery

The Australian government put out a travel advisory yesterday instructing travellers to exercise a high degree of caution in Indonesia and follow the instructions of authorities.

Also Read: Reason behind largest volcanic eruptions, occurred 73,000 years ago, found by researchers

Mount Agung last erupted in 1963, killing about 1,600 people.

It rumbled back to life in September and authorities raised the alert to the highest level, forcing 140,000 people living nearby to evacuate.