Indonesia raises Bali volcano alert level for second time

JAKARTA, Indonesia— Indonesian officials have more than doubled the size of a no go zone around the Mount Agung volcano on the tourist island of Bali and raised its alert level for the second time in less than a week.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said Monday that people should stay 6 kilometers from the crater, and up to 7.5 kilometers away to the north, southeast and south-southwest.

It said the exclusion zone must be empty of all community activities and residents should be prepared to evacuate at short notice.

The agency said there has been a continuing increase in seismic activity as well as visual observations of 50-meter (165-foot) -high blasts from the crater.

Agung last erupted in 1963, killing 1,100 people and hurling ash as high as 10 kilometers (16 miles).

The surrounding Karangasem district, an area of about 840 square kilometers (324 square miles), has a population of 408,000.

The mountain is about 72 kilometers to the northeast of the tourist hotspot of Kuta.