Indonesia raises Bali volcano alert level for second time

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesian officials have more than doubled the size of a no go zone around the Mount Agung volcano on the tourist island of Bali and raised its alert level for the second time in less than a week.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said Monday that people should stay 6 kilometres (3.8 miles) from the crater, and up to 7.5 kilometres (4.7 miles) away to the north, southeast and south-southwest.

It said the exclusion zone must be empty of all community activities and residents should be prepared to evacuate at short notice.

The agency said there has been a continuing increase in seismic activity as well as visual observations of 50-meter (165-foot) -high blasts from the crater.

Agung last erupted in 1963, killing 1,100 people and and hurling ash as high as 10 kilometres (16 miles).

The surrounding Karangasem district, an area of about 840 square kilometres (324 square miles), has a population of 408,000.

The mountain is about 72 kilometres (45 miles) to the northeast of the tourist hotspot of Kuta.