Nearly 50,000 people have fled the Mount Agung volcano on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali, fearing an imminent eruption.
Waskita Sutadewa, spokesman for the disaster mitigation agency in Bali, said people have scattered to all corners of the island and some have crossed to the neighbouring island of Lombok.
Indonesian authorities raised the volcano's alert status to the highest level on Friday following a dramatic increase in seismic activity. It last erupted in 1963, killing about 1,100 people.
Officials have said there's no immediate threat to tourists but some are already cutting short their stays in Bali.
A significant eruption would force the closure of Bali's international airport, stranding thousands.
"It's obviously an awful thing. We want to be out of here just to be safe," said an Australian woman at Bali's airport who identified herself as Miriam.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said hundreds of thousands of face masks will be distributed in Bali as part of government humanitarian assistance that includes thousands of mattresses and blankets.
Indonesia is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
