By BERNAMA / Pic By BLOOMBERG

Jakarta • Mount Agung erupted again on Monday, putting the local authorities on a state of preparedness.

Head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency’s Information Data and Community Relations Centre Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement that many locals living about 4km from the crater of the volcano have voluntarily left the area.

He said the volcano was reported to have erupted again yesterday morning after a big eruption at 9.04pm on Monday. The active volcano located in Bali erupted, spewing lava and ash several km into the air.

Pictures published by the Indonesian media show lava flowing from the crater, causing forests in the surrounding areas to catch fire.

Mount Agung, which is located in north-east Bali, has been increasingly active since last year and last Friday. The I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (GNRIA) in Bali was temporarily closed due to the smoke and ash from the eruptions.

The last major eruption for Mount Agung was in 1963, killing more than 1,000 people.

“Satellite monitoring shows that the dominant volcanic ash is spreading towards the west. At the moment, GNRIA in Denpasar, Bali, is operating as normal,” he said.

Meanwhile, a spokesman of the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta has urged Malaysians not to go near the eruption area.

“The embassy is constantly monitoring the eruption,” he said. — Bernama