Bali volcano UPDATE: locals pray to calm Mount Agung as smoke spews – eruption imminent

The Bali volcano, Mount Agung, could erupt at any minute with

Over 100,000 people have been evacuated from the Mount Agung 7.5-mile danger zone, as the volcano has been spewing out tonnes of ash and smoke from its crater. 

Balinese Hindu men and women have started praying to attempt to calm the volcano which has been shaking since August. 

One worshipper told AFP: “I pray for the volcano and hopefully Mount Agung will start to calm down…and will not explode as we fear.

“So hopefully the hods can help us to calm down Mount Agung so it does not explode at all.”

Experts have warned magma continues to escape toward the surface after 800 earthquakes have rocked Bali.

Bali has braced for devestation with warnings saying: “There was white smoke observed some 50m above of peak of the crater.

“The chances of the eruption are quite large. But it can not be ascertained when it will erupt with certainty. There are nearly 100,000 people evacuated.”

Officials have also installed five sirens to warn residents of an impeding Bali volcano eruption.

The latest update from Indonesia’s National Board for Disaster Management said that over 800 earthquakes were detected on Wednesday.

Stop Purwo Nugroho, head of information data and public relations centre of BNPB, said in the update: “Mount Agung volcanic activity in Bali is still high.

“Today there were 329 times shadow volcanic earthquakes, 444 deep volcanic earthquakes, and 56 local tectonic earthquakes. The number and strength of the quakes was bigger than yesterday.”

The latest Foreign Office advice to Britons planning to visit the region warned “an eruption is possible in the next 24 hours”.

The Foreign Office said: “You should follow the advice of the local authorities and stay outside the exclusion zone. If there is an eruption, volcanic ash clouds could cause flight disruptions.