Indonesian volcano suddenly explodes spewing massive plumes of ash

Australian tourists were woken up in the middle of the night and evacuated from their hotels in Bali over fears a huge volcano could erupt.

Mount Agung has been smoking for almost a week and could explode in a matter of hours after Indonesian authorities put it on the highest alert level.

But despite more than 80,000 people fleeing their homes within 12km of the volcano, Bali's tourism office insists the island is still safe for tourists.