Bali volcano: Fears of Mount Agung eruption cause more than 75,000 people to evacuate the area, say Indonesian authorities

Disaster agency warns hundreds of daily tremors indicate magma is moving toward the surface and an eruption is highly likely

Mount Agung last erupted in 1963, killing more than 1,000 people (EPA/MADE NAGI)

More than 75,000 people have been evacuated from the area around Mount Agung on Bali amid fears of an imminent eruption, the Indonesian disaster agency has said.

The agency said hundreds of tremors daily from the volcano indicate magma is moving toward the surface and an eruption is highly likely.

Villagers living within a high danger zone which extends to 7.5 miles (12km) from Agung's crater in some places have been ordered to evacuate.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the agency's spokesman, said evacuees are spread across more than 370 locations on the island, including temporary camps, sports centres, village halls and the houses of friends and relatives.

The volcano's alert status was raised to its highest level on Friday.

Agung last erupted in 1963, killing about 1,100 people.

The 3,031-metre (9,944ft) mountain hurled ash as high as 20km (12 miles), according to volcanologists, and remained active for around a year.

Officials have said there is 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 is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia.

The country of thousands of islands 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.