(FILE PHOTO) Volcano eruption

More than 122,000 people on the Indonesian resort island of Bali have sought refuge in temporary shelters amid fears that the Mount Agung volcano will erupt soon.

Those fleeing their homes included villagers who lived outside an exclusion zone of 12 kilometres from the volcano, said Gede Sumartana, an official at an emergency post dealing with the dislaced in Karangasem district.

“They are afraid of being hit in case of an eruption,’’ he said.

Indonesian authorities raised the alert for Mount Agung to the highest level, indicating an eruption could be imminent.

The 3,031-metre Mount Agung last erupted for almost a year in 1963 to 1964, killing about 1,200 people.

(dpa/NAN)