Bali volcano - live updates: Airport reopens while Indonesia urges anyone in danger zone to get out
Authorities raise volcano warning to highest alert level
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Your support makes all the difference.The airport on the holiday island of Bali has reopened after tens of thousands of travellers were stranded for two days due to an erupting volcano, but Indonesia's President said the danger has not passed and urged anyone within the mountain's exclusion zone to get out "for the sake of their safety."
Mount Agung has been hurling clouds of white and dark gray ash about 7,600m (4.7 miles) into the atmosphere and lava is welling up in the crater, though it remains unclear how bad the current situation might get or how long it could last.
Indonesian authorities raised their warning for the volcano to the top level four alert earlier in the week, and told residents around the mountain to immediately evacuate, warning of an "imminent" risk of a larger eruption.
Airport spokesman Arie Ahsannurohim said the volcanic ash has drifted south and southeast, leaving clean space above the airport for planes to land and take off.
It has been closed since Monday morning, disrupting travel for tens of thousands of people.
The closure of the airport had stranded tens of thousands of travellers, affecting tourists already on Bali and people who were ready to fly to the island from abroad or within Indonesia.
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo ordered all concerned ministries and agencies, as well as the military and police, to help Bali's government deal with the disaster.
"I hope there will be no victims hit by the eruption," he said.
Authorities have told 100,000 people to leave homes nearest the volcano, though tens of thousands stayed because they felt safe or didn't want to abandon livestock.
Nearly 40,000 people are now staying in 225 shelters, according to the Disaster Mitigation Agency in Karangasem.
Mudflows have been seen on the mountain's slopes, and authorities warned more are possible, since it's the rainy season in Bali.
Mount Agung's last major eruption in 1963 killed about 1,100 people.
Indonesia sits on the "Pacific Ring of Fire" and has more than 120 active volcanoes.
Additional reporting by agencies
Putu Sulasmi, a villager, said she fled with her husband and other family members to a sports hall that is serving as an evacuation center.
"We came here on motorcycles. We had to evacuate because our house is just three miles from the mountain. We were so scared with the thundering sound and red light," she told the Associated Press.
The family had stayed at the same sports center in September and October when the volcano's activity was high, but it didn't erupt then. They had returned to their village about a week ago.
"If it has to erupt, let it erupt now rather than leaving us in uncertainty. I'll just accept it if our house is destroyed," she added.
Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency has said a larger eruption is possible, though a government volcanologist has also said Mount Agung could stay at its current level of activity for weeks and not erupt explosively.
Authorities have told 100,000 people to leave homes nearest the volcano, though tens of thousands stayed because they felt safe or didn't want to abandon livestock.
443 flights have been affected by the closure of Bali's airport, which is 37 miles from Mount Agung.
Indonesia's Transport Ministry said aircraft flying channels were "covered with volcanic ash". The airport will remain closed until at least 7.00am on Wednesday (11.00pm GMT)
Passengers had a mixed response to Bali's airport being closed. An estimated 2,000 people are stranded, with many seeking refunds or attempting to book on to alternative flights.
"There are thousands of people stranded here at the airport," Nitin Sheth, a tourist from India, told Reuters. "They have to go to some other airport and they are trying to do that, but the government or authorities here are not helping."
Others were attempting to make the most of the situation, and relying heavily on a nearby bar.
"There's not a lot of information ... very little", said Matthew Radix from Perth. "But it's all right. We're on holidays so it doesn't matter. We don't know what's going to happen but we can get back to the bar and have another drink,"
How long the Mount Agung eruption will continue remains unclear. It could stay at the current level for weeks, belching out ash and smoke, or could progress into a more violent eruption, experts said.
"If it got much worse, it would be really hard to think of," said Richard Arculus, a volcano expert at Australian National University. "You've got a huge population centre, nearly a million people in Denpasar and surroundings, and it's very difficult to envision moving those people further away.
"There are many examples in history where you have this kind of seismic build-up - steam ejections of a little bit of ash, growing eruptions of ash to a full-scale stratosphere-reaching column of ash, which can presage a major volcanic event."
Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Centre has warned an eruption of a size similar to that seen in 1963 could send rocks bigger than a fist flying a distance of up to 8km (5 miles), and volcanic gas a distance of 10km (6 miles) within three minutes.
More than 440 flights have been cancelled, affecting nearly 60,000 passengers, about the same number as yesterday, Airport spokesman Ari Ahsanurrohim said.
Without aircraft, getting in or out of Bali requires traveling hours by land and boat to an airport on another island.
Mount Agung could remain on the brink of a major eruption for weeks, volcanologists told The Independent.
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