Indonesia warns cold lava flows to increase from Bali's Mt Agung

Balinese Hindus walk after praying as Mount Agung erupts at Besakih Temple in Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia on November 26, 2017. REUTERS/Johannes P. Christo

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Cold lava flows, also known as lahar, are expected to increase amid an eruption of Mount Agung on Indonesia's tourist resort island of Bali, a disaster agency said on Monday, after sounding its highest-level warning over the volanco's activity.

"Watch out for lahar floods (cold lava) around Mt Agung," agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on social network Twitter.

"Lahar floods have already occurred in several places on the slopes," he added, referring to expectations of increased rain in the current wet season. He urged people to avoid nearby river areas.

(Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Writing by Fergus Jensen; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)