The residents living around Mount Agung has been told not to be fooled by the mountain’s seemingly calm appearance of late, as more tremors and volcanic ash could still be on the cards.
“It’s calm on the outside, but there’s a lot of activity inside,” said a Volcanology and Geological Hazards Mitigation Centre (PVMBG) official Devy Kamil Syahbana said on Sunday, as quoted by The Straits Times.
Mount Agung has shown a decline in volcanic activity since its status was raised to the highest alert level after thick dark smoke and volcanic ash were seen bursting out of its crater.
In the last few days, locals have even reported seeing less smoke and even seeing clear skies and mere clouds above and around the mountain.
However, according to Devy, overscale seismic tremors can still be detected from the mountain, through it could not be precisely measured by the PVMBG.
“The tremors are the result of ongoing gas and ash eruptions in the crater,” said Devy. “Low frequency earthquakes have also taken place, caused by the movement of magmatic fluids as they rise and breach the surface.”
He added that at least 20 million cubic metres of magmatic fluids might have filled the crater.
Mount Agung’s activity first began to escalate in September with a series of earthquakes and has since forced around 133,000 residents around Mount Agung to evacuate to temporary shelters.