Several Bali flights canceled after volcano erupts in Indonesia
What's the story
The eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on the tourist island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, has led to the cancellation of several flights to and from Bali.
The 1,584-meter volcano erupted on Tuesday, sending an ash plume 11km into the sky.
The country's volcanology agency raised the alert level to its highest due to this event.
Flight disruptions
Several international flights canceled
The Bali international airport website confirmed that several international flights from India, Singapore, and Australia to Bali were canceled.
Singapore Airlines canceled four flights between Denpasar airport and Singapore, while its budget subsidiary Scoot also scrapped flights to Bali and Lombok.
Jetstar also canceled several morning flights from Australia to Bali and expected afternoon flights to be delayed due to the ash cloud.
Airport closure
Airport closed, residents evacuated
The Fransiskus Xaverius Seda airport in Maumere was closed until Thursday morning for safety reasons.
The eruption also forced local authorities to evacuate residents from two villages near the volcano as streets were filled with thick ash, gravel, and sand, an official at the local disaster mitigation agency told Reuters.
No casualties have been reported so far.
Ongoing eruption
Another eruption on Wednesday morning
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki continued to show volcanic activity on Wednesday morning with another eruption.
The agency warned of possible hazardous lahar floods, a type of mud or debris flow of volcanic materials, if heavy rain occurs, especially for communities near rivers.
Residents and tourists are advised to stay at least seven kilometers from the volcano's crater due to ongoing tremors and eruptions.
Mountain
Indonesia located on 'Pacific Ring of Fire'
The volcano had also erupted many times in November, killing nine people, canceling many international flights to Bali, and forcing thousands of travelers to leave.
Laki-Laki, which translates to "man" in Indonesian, lies next to the calmer but taller 1,703m (5,587-foot) volcano called Perempuan, which means "woman" in Indonesian.
Indonesia, a huge archipelago nation, sees frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire."