The volcanic ash cloud spewed by Mount Agung on the resort island of Bali on Tuesday afternoon has not yet disrupted the operation of Ngurah Rai International Airport.

“Airport operation remains normal. Visual monitoring by pilots is underway. The wind is heading east and southeast. It’s not heading to the airport,” the airport’s spokesman, Arie Ahsanuurohim, said on Tuesday.

Mt. Agung, which has been rumbling in recent months, spewed black smoke at 5:05 p.m. on Tuesday, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).

“Residents are advised to remain calm. Do not panic. Stay away from areas within a 6 to 7.5-kilometer radius of the volcano,” he said on his Twitter account.

But people living near the volcano said they did not see any signs that Mt. Agung had erupted.

“I am sure it has not erupted. We saw the mountain this afternoon. All of us saw it. It was not an eruption. There was no earthquake. We did not feel any earthquake," said Besakih customary village chief, Jero Mangku Widiartha.

About 50 percent of Besakih Customary Village area is located in the exclusion area of 7.5 km from the mountain. The remaining area was declared safe when authorities downgraded the alert status of Mt. Agung from the fourth level to the third level in October. (ahw)

Source:
courtesy of THE JAKARTA POST

by Ni Komang Erviani

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]