Bali ‘safe for tourists’ despite risk of Mount Agung volcano erupting

Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency has urged tourists to continue visiting Bali, saying the resort island is safe except for the area around Mount Agung, a volcano in eastern Indonesia that could erupt at any time.

Three hundred tremors were recorded in the vicinity of the volcano between midnight and 6am on Sunday and white smoke was detected 200 metres above the crater. National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho​ tweeted that as of Sunday morning the volcano had not erupted and there was no volcanic ash. A radius of nine kilometres and 12 kilometres around the mountain was considered dangerous but the resort island was otherwise safe.

Mount Agung is 71 kilometres from the tourist hot spot of Kuta. Flights in and out of Bali’s international airport remain normal with 50,000 to 60,000 travellers in and out of the island every day says Ngurah Rai airport general manager Yanus Suprayogi. Aviation will only be affected if volcanic ash is present with none detected as of Sunday morning local time. The director general of air transport, Agus Santoso said even if the volcano erupted  with lava it would not affect aviation unless there was also volcanic ash. Nine alternative airports outside of Bali had been prepared for diverted flights if volcanic ash was detected. Mr Santoso said 300 buses would  be available to transport affected travellers to ferry ports and bus stations so they could leave Bali if flights were affected.

“Bali tourism is safe. Do not spread misleading news that Bali is not safe because Mount Agung is on the highest alert status. Please come and visit Bali,” Mr Sutopo tweeted. He said a photo circulating on social media of a mountain with lava streaming down its side was of Soputan, a volcano in Sulawesi that erupted in 2015, and not Mount Agung. “This is causing people to panic,” he said.

Source : http://www.smh.com.au

Photo : Mount Agung in Bali, Indonesia. Photo: AP