https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/t...k=1ce666f55aa950c30d531892f133b6f0-1511697747
Ash Columns Rise From Agung Volcano Following Second Eruption in a Week. Credit - YouTube/SAY YOGA via Storyful0:48
International flights that had been grounded overnight due ash and smoke spewing from an erupting Mt Agung in Bali resumed on November 26. Mt Agung volcano erupted a second time in a week, prompting many airlines to cancel or diverted their flights on Saturday night, despite Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency giving the green light to fly, ABC reported. The volcano began spewing smoke around 5.30pm on November 25, with nearby villages covered in thin layers of ash, AP reported. This video shows the ash columns still rising high above Bali on the morning of November 26. Credit: YouTube/SAY YOGA via Storyful
- November 26th 2017
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Ash Columns Rise From Agung Volcano Following Second Eruption in a Week. Credit — YouTube/SAY YOGA via Storyful
Travel Warnings
Bali volcano erupts for the second time in a week, disrupting flights
AFP and Staff writers, News Corp Australia Network
November 26, 2017 9:54pm
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A VOLCANO on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali sent plumes of grey smoke and steam thousands of metres into the air on Sunday for the third day in a week, triggering flight disruptions and leaving thousands of tourists stranded, officials said Sunday.
Mount Agung spewed smoke and ash as high as 4,000 metres on Sunday morning, causing at least 15 departing or arriving flights to be cancelled Sunday afternoon, according to a spokesman for Bali’s airport.
Indonesia’s volcanology centre has put out a red alert warning airlines of a possible eruption, with a likely significant emission of ash into the atmosphere. But as of Sunday afternoon Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport was still open.
Jetstar has resumed flights to Bali, after the second eruption of the Mt Agung volcano within a week forced it to cancel flights to the island last night.
The airline says its senior pilots have assessed the volcanic ash conditions at the popular tourist destination, finding them improved and safe to fly in.
It will run 18 flights between Bali and Australia or Singapore on Sunday, while three flights from Townsville, Singapore and Perth remain cancelled.
The decision to delay or divert flights was up to individual airlines, said airport spokesman Arie Ahsanurrohim.
Villagers watched Mount Agung as it erupted. Picture: AP
A view of Mount Agung erupting in Karangasem, Bali. Picture: AP
“We try to make the airport as comfortable as possible for the passengers affected. So far we have provided special rooms for them to unpack their luggage and video entertainment so they can relax a bit,” Ahsanurrohim told AFP.
At least 2,000 passengers are affected by the flight disruption, mostly tourists from Australia.
It came after the rumbling volcano spewed smoke hundreds of metres into the air, the second time since Tuesday, grounding international flights and forcing residents to flee.
Earlier, at least four Jetstar flights and one Qantas flight between Australian airports and Bali were diverted to other airports.
A Virgin Australia flight from Pt Hedland to Bali has also turned back.
Mount Agung belched smoke as high as 1,500 metres above its summit, twice as high as on Tuesday when smoke sparked an exodus from homes near the mountain.
People living within 7.5 kilometres of the mountain have been told to evacuate, senior volcanologist Gede Suantika said, advising residents to remain calm.
It comes after the volcano stirred to life in September, forcing 140,000 people to leave the area.
Mount Agung sent flames through the sky.
A family prepares food at an evacuation centre. Picture: AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka
The Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre said that the volcanic ash cloud was up to 25,000ft and moving south.
However, Batik Air, Garuda, and Indonesia AirAsia are still operating.
Jetstar’s flight JQ 116 did not depart from Perth to Bali at 5.30pm and the airline’s three flights today are all expected to be cancelled.
Volcanic ash can significantly damage to aircraft’s systems, sensors and engines and Australian Airlines take an ultra-cautious approach to volcanic ash.
People intending to travel should check the airline’s website.
A volunteer puts a mask on a woman due to ash in the air from Mt. Agung volcano. Picture: AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka
The latest eruption is stronger than last Tuesday’s, with a cloud of steam and pulverised rock driven at least 1,500 metres above the volcano’s 3,000-metre peak.
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the volcano’s alert status remains at the second-highest level. There hasn’t been an increase in seismic activity, he said.
A woman with two children watches as makeshift evacuation structures are built. Thousands living in the shadow of Mount Agung have been forced to flee. Picture: AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka
An exclusion zone around the volcano extends 7.5km from the crater in places.
About 25,000 people have been unable to return to their homes since September, when Agung showed signs of activity for the first time in more than half a century.
Mount Agung’s last major eruption in 1963 when about 1100 people were killed.
There are 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, a belt of seismic activity running around the basin of the Pacific Ocean.
Originally published as Erupting volcano strands tourists
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