Indonesia tells Singapore to avoid Bali as volcano erupts

Bloomberg

Indonesia said Singapore’s travel advisory to avoid parts of the vacation island of Bali following a minor eruption at Mount Agung volcano was “excessive”.
The eruption spouted ash clouds reaching up to 700 metres above Mount Agung’s crater, Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s volcanology agency said on its website. Neighbouring Singapore said its citizens should refrain from non-essential travel to affected areas of the island.
“It’s excessive for Singapore to issue an advisory on Bali as only a radius of 6 to 7.5 kilometers around the crater of Mount Agung is considered dangerous,” Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the disaster mitigation agency, said. “So the condition is safe. Flights are also safe.” More than 100,000 people have been cleared out from around the volcano.