Bali’s highest Mount Agung has been spewing clouds of black ash since its unexpected second eruption on Saturday at 5.30pm local time.
Shocking footage shows rivers of volcanic debris, water and ashes powerfully flowing down the riverbeds of Bali as locals observe from the banks.
The video shows a lahar – the technical name for the concrete-like mixture – scooping up a large amount of debris as it ploughs down a river close to Mount Agung.
Bali officials warned about the dangers of lahars and advised to stay away from the water.
Heat signatures picked up by NASA satellites are pointing towards vast amounts of magma pooling around Mount Agung‘s summit.
MAGMA Indonesia tweeted: “Tonight, for the first time a thermal anomaly was detected in the crater of Mount Agung by NASA Modis satellite, about 70 megawatts of power.
“This indicates that a significant volume of magma had been on the surface.”
Despite the growing threat of imminent eruption, thousands of locals have refused to leave their homes and livestock to escape the threat of the volcano.
At least 22 villages are currently caught in the expected blast zone which could affect some 90,000 to 100,000 people.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesperson for Indonesia‘s Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), said: “Some people within a radius of 8-10km from the summit crater of Mount Agung have not been displaced.
“They feel safe because the area was not damaged during the 1963 eruption. They will evacuate if it’s dangerous.”
Mount Agung’s last eruption in the 1960s caused the death of an estimates 1600 people and the destruction of many villages in one of the most devastating eruptions in Indonesia’s history.