Mount Agung Still Erupting: PVMBG

Karangasem (Antara Bali) - The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry's Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center (PVMBG) reported that Mount Agung was still erupting, an official stated here, Friday.

Devy Kamil Syahbana, PVMBG seismologist and head of the Volcano Observation Center for Eastern Region, said that the eruption had not yet stopped, as indicated by a burnt orange glow, which was seen at the crater a few days ago.

The glow had appeared because of the reflection of the heated lava on the smoke, she explained.

Because the lava has reached the surface, Mount Agung's crater is still being deformed through swelling and deflating, Syahbana added.

"According to our observation, the deformation status is still fluctuating now; the crater got inflated before the eruption and continued to deflate after the explosion," she noted, while speaking in Karangasem district, Bali.

The volcanic inflation-deflation, Syahbana stressed, occurred because the lava was still generating pressure from the chamber to throw the molten particles to the surface.

The inflation process was indicated by the smoke and the gas that spewed from the crater, followed by the deflation of the volcano's chamber. From September to October, the crater has inflated by six centimeters.

"We have not yet decided whether the volcano has stopped erupting, because we are still collecting data and information. From September to October, at least 1,000 tremors had occurred before the eruption," Syahbana emphasized.

The tremors have indicated that the magma will not break the crater, and just directly reach the surface.

"(According to the satellite), the volcano has not yet reached its equilibrium, but, we are still waiting for the overall trends (of the volcanic activity), before announcing its status," she mentioned.

Up until today, the volcano is still in the eruption stage, as marked by the number of volcanic tremors and the columns of smoke, Syahbana reiterated. (WDY)