Bali volcano: 34,000 flee Mount Agung as tremor magnitude intensifies

More than 34,000 people have fled from a rumbling volcano on Bali as the magnitude of tremors grows, prompting fears it could erupt for the first time in more than 50 years, an official has said.

Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said the number of people fleeing their homes surrounding the volcano had tripled since Friday amid growing alarm that Mount Agung could erupt at any moment.

“The evacuation process is ongoing and we expect the number of evacuees to continue to rise,” the agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

The resort island is a popular destination for Australian tourists and the foreign affairs department in Canberra issued a new travel warning for Bali because of fears of an eruption.

The volcano, located about 75km (50 miles) from the tourist hub of Kuta, has been rumbling since August.

Officials announced the highest possible alert level on late Friday following the increasing volcanic activities and urged people stay at least nine kilometres away from the crater.

“I am actually very worried to leave, I left my cows and pigs at home because we were ordered to vacate our village immediately,” villager Nyoman Asih who evacuated with her entire family told AFP.

The international airport in Bali’s capital, Denpasar, was anticipating possibilities of airport closure but no flight schedules had been affected as of Sunday.

The airport has prepared buses and trains to divert passengers to alternative hubs in neighbouring provinces if the mountain erupts.

More than 1,000 people died when Mount Agung last erupted in 1963.