Bali is a favorite Travel destination in Indonesia and the volcano Mount Agung erupted early on Sunday morning. It sent up plumes of volcanic ash cloud to a height of nearly two kilometers (1.2 miles) and sparked fears of a disturbance in flight schedules and delays. The authorities are maintaining a safe distance of four kilometers (2.4 miles) as an exclusion zone around the mountain because there could be more eruptions. Bali's main airport was safe and the eruption did not have much effect. However, the volcano is active which could mean travelers might remain stranded on the holiday island.
It was active in 2017 as well.
Daily Mail UK mentions about Tourists on holiday being stuck in Bali for days following the eruption of Mount Agung. The thick smoke that filled the skies posed dangers to travel by air and it affected both incoming and outgoing flights. During a similar situation in June 2018, many airlines canceled flights at Denpasar Airport and nearly 5000 travelers had to suffer. They remained stranded because of delays in flights or their cancellation.
Bali's Mount Agung volcano has erupted spewing ash two kilometres into the air. #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/bRppu6ejNT
— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) April 22, 2019
Volcanoes are common in this region
Bali in Indonesia has plenty of offer tourists but on the flipside, there are fears of volcanic eruptions that can spoil the fun of a holiday in an exotic location.
Right now, Mount Agung is active but there are others like Mount Bromo and Mount Merapi. These have not erupted yet but are also believed to be active and the authorities have issued alerts with exclusion zones in place. A spokesperson has explained that the public need not panic so long as they stay away from these danger zones.
It seems some foreign climbers attempted to climb Mount Agung disregarding the caution and rescue groups had to intervene.
Bali’s Mount Agung volcano erupts overnight, spewing ash 2km high https://t.co/N4YQrFoVMS
— Pacific Life (@guzenko_ala) April 21, 2019
While on the subject of earthquakes and volcanoes, Daily Mail UK adds that Indonesia is prone to these natural disasters.
This is because the archipelago is located on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire' and local government seismologists have to keep track of more than 120 active volcanoes.
Indonesia on high alert
According to News AU, people from Australia who were in Bali are on high alert as Mount Agung erupted and send volcanic ash high into the sky and volcanic ash rained down on neighboring areas. There was disruption of some flights scheduled to depart from Denpasar airport. There are no reports of casualties but the status of the volcano remains at level three out of four possible levels. As a precautionary measure, there is an exclusion zone in place. This is a four-kilometer zone around the active volcano and people must not go beyond that point. Apart from Mount Agung, there are two more volcanoes, popular with tourists on the island of Java. These are Mount Bromo in East Java and Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta and could erupt.