Bali Volcano Spews Ash 2,000 meters to the Sky in Latest Eruption

TEMPO.CO, Denpasar - Bali's Mount Agung in Karangasem District erupted again on Saturday, May 18, at 2:09 a.m. local time, spewing ash 2,000 meters into the air from its peak, which is 5,142 meters above sea level.

According to data obtained from Mount Agung monitoring post, the volcanic ash column was thick and gray and leaning in the east and southeast directions, as stated by the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) Chief Made Rentin.

"The eruption had a maximum amplitude of 25 mm and lasted for two minutes and 57 seconds," he said.

Besides data from monitoring post in Rendang, Rentin said they also received a report from volunteers of Pasebayan, in Karangasem District.

He noted that Pesebayan volunteers had reported at 5:10 a.m. local time that Desa Ban, Kubu Subdistrict, Karangasem and its surroundings, including Cutcut Hamlets, Tongtongan, Bonyoh, and Temakung, were the areas exposed to the Mount Agung eruption.

The Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVMBG) has also called on people living around Mount Agung as well as climbers, visitors, and tourists to not conduct any activities in the demarcated danger zone, specifically in all areas within a four-kilometer radius from the volcano's peak.

The estimated danger zone is dynamic and under constant evaluation and can be changed at any time in line with the developments related to the most current or the latest data of Mount Agung monitoring.

Moreover, people residing and conducting activities along the river banks around the Bali volcano have been urged to maintain vigil in case of possible secondary danger arising from lava rains that can occur particularly in the rainy season and if the eruption material is still exposed in the peak area. The land area of the lava rain follows the rivers upstream of Mount Agung.

ANTARA