Bali airport closed, emergency evacuation ordered as volcanic activity feared
Tuesday, November 28th, 2017 9:49:09 by fatimaarshad
Indonesian government ordered the closure of Bali airport and advised the locals and the tourists to leave the area immediately on Monday as volcanic activity is feared. The government ordered the emergency evacuation of 100,000 residents living near Mount Agung, which is grumbling again with volcanic activity, spewing columns of ash into the air.
According to reports, the airport was closed for 24 hours from Monday morning which resulted in the disruption of 445 flights and some 59,000 passengers. The volcanic activity shows that a eruption is ‘imminent’, causing all this worry among the residents and tourists.
The last time Mount Agung erupted was in 1963, killing hundreds of people and destroying nearby villages. An official said that the airport closure could be extended as there is looming danger of an eruption.
“Plumes of smoke are occasionally accompanied by explosive eruptions and the sound of weak blasts that can be heard up to 12 km (7 miles) from the peak,” the Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said in a statement after raising the alert from three to its highest level of four.
“The potential for a larger eruption is imminent,” it said, referring to a visible glow of magma at Mount Agung’s peak overnight, and warning residents to evacuate a danger zone at a radius of 8-10 km (5-6 miles).
An official also told reporters that so far there were no casualties reported and around 40,000 people had already left the area, but there are still tens of thousands who needed to be moved to a safe location.
Bali, famous for its surf, beaches and temples, attracted nearly 5 million visitors last year, but this year, the activity remained low since September due to the volcanic activity in Mount Agung.
Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=55685
Posted by fatimaarshad
on Nov 28 2017. Filed under Latest News, World.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
