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The Mount Agung volcano in Bali began erupting on 24 November, and it is feared an even larger eruption could occur.
Explosions in Mount Agung are hurling clouds of white and dark grey ash up to 3000 metres into the atmosphere, and lava is welling up in the crater. Mudflows, caused by the ash mixing with rain, are already flowing down some valleys.
On Monday, the Indonesian authorities ordered a mass evacuation of people from an expanded danger zone extending 10 kilometres around the volcano. Around 40,000 of the 90,000 people in the zone have evacuated already, spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told a news conference in Jakarta.
But others have not left because they feel safe or do not want to abandon their livestock, he said. “If needed we will forcibly evacuate them.”
Ash clouds also reached the island’s international airport on Monday, forcing it