Mount Agung volcano in Bali, the resort island of Indonesia, continued powerful eruptions on Sunday with a column of ash spread by up to four km high, forcing authorities to ban flight in the territory, an official of disaster agency said.
The volcano erupted three times on Sunday morning with the latest eruption spewing the highest height of ash, four km, at 06:20 a.m. local time, spokesman of national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
The previous two eruptions on Sunday spread ash by up to 3,000 meters and 2,000 meters high, he added.
The volcanic ash spreads to the east and southeast of the crater, heading to nearby Lombok, a tourism resort in Flores island, the spokesman said.
Planes were banned from flying above the territory as the center of volcanology and geological hazard mitigation (PVMBG) has risen volcano observatory notice for aviation to the highest level, said the official.
"PVMBG has increased warning level from orange to red," he told Xinhua in a text message.
The authorities have been ordered to immediately distributed masks to the people as volcanic ash keeps pouring down several villages.
"People living in no-go zone must immediately evacuate," he stressed, referring to the 7.5-km dangerous zone.
