Indonesia’s Mt. Ibu erupts, triggers second-highest aviation alert
Mount Ibu, located in Indonesia's North Maluku province, erupted on Thursday, sending a column of ash up to 3 km high and prompting the second-highest aviation alert
Some 122,000 people have been evacuated in view of a possible eruption of Mount Agung, a large volcano on the Indonesian island of Bali, authorities announced on Thursday.
The authorities have set up a 12-km radius exclusion zone around the volcano, reports Efe news.
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According to latest figures, however, 62,000 people were still within the exclusion zone.
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The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (BNPB) raised the alert level to a maximum 4 on September 22 and has been recording a constant increase in activity through volcanic movements, thermal energy and the volume of the volcano.
On Wednesday, the authorities had also installed mobile sirens to warn residents of a possible eruption.
Experts have said that it was impossible to predict if the 3,031-metre-high volcano will erupt or not.
A plan has been drawn up to redirect air traffic to other airports in case of an eruption.
The BNPB had said in a statement on September 21 that the current tremors were similar to those that occurred before Mount Agung erupted in 1963, which lasted almost a year and killed over 1,100 people.
Indonesia is home to more than 400 volcanoes, of which at least 127 are active and 65 are classified as dangerous.
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