Volcanic ash clouds have again disrupted the plans of Bali holidaymakers
Disaster mitigation authorities in West Nusa Tenggara have raised the status of Indonesia's second highest active volcano to "alert" as it continues to spew ash, prompting an Australian airline to cancel all flights to and from Denpasar airport today.
Mount Barujari, Mount Rinjani's cone and a result of eruptions of the main volcano in 1994 and 1995, erupted on Sunday sending hot clouds and debris up to around 10,000 feet, Azhar, chief of the West Nusa Tenggara Disaster Mitigation Agency, said on Tuesday.
Although the status remains at alert, Azhar said, the agency had prepared a number of evacuation scenarios for some 40,000 residents living near the 3,726-meter volcano located in the North Lombok district.
"We will evacuate them immediately to the safest areas in North Lombok, East Lombok and West Lombok," said Azhar as quoted by news portal Okezone.com on Tuesday.
The volcanic activity has prompted Virgin Australia to cancel all of Tuesday's flights to and from Indonesia's most popular tourist destination island of Bali — neighboring Lombok.
Comment: Additional coverage of the storm from The Today Show - 9news.com.au