Yet the Balinese government has sent a letter to address the “people around the world”, pleading with tourists that Bali is still safe.
However the official advice on the Australian Government’s Smart Traveller website says to exercise a high degree of caution.
It comes as Bali Nine member Scott Rush and 166 inmates at Indonesia’s Karangasem prison were evacuated amid fears Mount Agung could boil over.
Mount Agung, about 75 kilometres from the tourist hub of Kuta, has been shaking since August.
But in recent days it’s threatening to erupt for the first time in more than 50 years, forcing more than 80,000 people to flee their homes.
Hands up who else on the Island feels anxious? One island expat wrote on her blog.
Tourists have also said they have been forced out of accommodation close to the base of the volcano.
I had been at a wedding in a remote village of Munti Gunung in the north of Bali, one tourist said.
Around 11.30pm asleep back in the diving town of Tulamben I was woken by my Indonesian brother in law and told to pack our things and evacuate the area immediately.
It was quite a worrying moment because it was at that time we realised everyone in our hotel had already left.
Family staying in another hotel were kicked out and made to find their own way to safety.
Karangasem prison lies 23km to the southeast of the volcano, which is outside of the exclusion zone, but no chances were being taken.
Evacuated alongside Rush was Sydney man Michael Sacatides, who is serving time on drug charges and Indonesian woman Noor Ellis, convicted of the murder of her Australian husband Bob Ellis.
Karangasem prison governor, Kusbyantoro, said all the prisoners had been evacuated.
Bali attracts millions of foreign visitors every year to its palm-fringed beaches and an eruption would be a major blow to its tourism-dependent economy.
Yet in a statement from Pemerintah Provinsi Bali, Indonesia’s National Disaster Agency urged tourists to continue visiting Bali.
Bali tourism is safe. Do not spread the misleading news that Bali is not safe because Mount Agung is on the highest alert status.
Please, come and visit Bali,A.A. Gede Yuniartha Putra said from Denpasar.
A Tourist who was staying in a resort away from the volcano said how he watched Mt Agung become more active.
We even experienced six tremors while diving. Two felt huge, he said.
Within three hours our hotel shipped us to our next destination early. They sensibly moved all guests to avoid the impending chaos and shut down the hotel as best they could.
They saved us trauma and anxiety. We feel so much for the workers who have lost their incomes.
Swift assurances were made in a follow-up statement, claiming 50,000-60,000 visitors were still flying in and out of the country on Wednesday.
The statement said the raised hazard level of Mount Agung could discourage tourists but because most tourist destinations were far from the exclusion zone, visitors should not be worried.
Visit Indonesia Tourism assured visitors Bali was open for business and business as usual.
The airport in Bali’s capital Denpasar has not been affected but several countries including Australia and Singapore have issued travel advisories warning travellers to exercise caution.
In anticipation of an eruption, Indonesia plans to divert flights headed for Bali to ten other airports, including on nearby Lombok and to the capital Jakarta.
The planes will be diverted to their nearest location or where it originally took off from, transport minister Budi Karya Sumadi said.
Airlines are watching the situation closely and 100 buses have been prepared to evacuate tourists.
Virgin Australia said it would be making an extra fuel stop in Darwin for some of its flights between Australia and Bali in case it is forced to turn back.
Singapore Airlines said customers travelling between September 23 and October 2 could rebook flights or ask for a refund.
Officials announced the highest possible alert level on Friday due to the increasing volcanic activity, and told people to stay at least nine kilometres away from the crater.
The Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation recorded almost 300 tremors Wednesday morning.
A thin column of smoke can be seen rising from the mountain’s summit.
Indonesia lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire where tectonic plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
Mount Agung last erupted in 1963, killing nearly 1,600 people.
Meanwhile, a rumbling, belching volcano that’s threatening to blow had forced more than 7,000 people to flee their homes by Wednesday on an island in the Pacific nation of Vanuatu.
Authorities have declared an emergency on Ambae island, where activity at the Manaro volcano has increased recently, raising fears of a major eruption.
About 10,000 people live on the island, and villagers close to the volcano have been moved to schools and community halls on the island’s less vulnerable eastern and western regions.
Tourism Observer
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