About 10,000 villagers have fled their homes after surge in seismic activity around mountain stokes fears of eruption

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Indonesian authorities have raised the alert level for Mount Agung volcano in Bali to its highest degree after a surge in seismic activity around the mountain sparked fears of an eruption.

Approximately 10,000 villagers had left their homes around the volcano, officials said. It was the third time in little more than a week that the alert level had been raised.

'They are victims': the Indonesian minors jailed in Australia and their five-year legal battle Read more

The Department of Meteorology, Climate and Geophysics said there had been a “tremendous increase” in seismic activity at the mountain, indicating a greater probability of an eruption, though it could not give a timeframe.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said no residents or tourists should be within 6 miles (9km) of the crater and within 7.5 miles to the north, north-east, south-east and south/south-west of the mountain.

“Volcanic activity remains high and there are indications of magma rising to the surface and causing tremors,” Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman for the NDMA, said. “There should be zero public activity within the specified radius in case there is an eruption.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Villagers rest after being evacuated from the area around the volcano. Photograph: AFP/Getty

The agency previously said about 9,400 villagers had been evacuated from their homes and dispersed across the districts of Karangasem, Klungkung and Buleleng. They are staying in temporary shelters, sports centres, village halls and with relatives, the NDMA spokesman said.

The 9,944 ft (3,031-metre) Agung volcano previously erupted in 1963, killing about 1,100 people and hurling ash 6 miles high. The mountain, 45 miles to the north-east of the tourist hotspot of Kuta, is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia.

The archipelago is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific “ring of fire”, an arc of volcanoes and faultlines encircling the Pacific Basin.

More than 7,000 of the evacuees were in Karangasem, the 325 sq mile district surrounding the volcano that is home to about 408,000 people.