Bali's Mt Agung "could erupt at any time"

Nearly 135,000 people on the Indonesian island of Bali have left their homes after warnings the Mount Agung volcano could erupt at any time, officials said late on Thursday.

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Fear of volcanic eruption on Bali forces nearly 135,000 to flee

Reuters

KARANGASEM, Indonesia: Nearly 135,000 people on the Indonesian island of Bali have left their homes and taken shelter in makeshift evacuation centres after warnings the Mount Agung volcano could erupt at any time, officials said late on Thursday.

Spewing white smoke and sending tremors through the area, Mount Agung's alert status was raised to the highest level last week. Since then, tens of thousands of villagers have abandoned their homes beneath the menacing volcano.

The national disaster management agency said many people have fled because they are unsure of their proximity to a 12km exclusion zone imposed around the crater.

Evacuees are being housed in tents, school gyms, and government buildings in neighbouring villages.

While there are plentiful stocks of food, water, medicines, and other supplies, evacuees fear they are in for a long wait that could disrupt their livelihoods.

In this photograph taken on September 27, 2017, Gusti Nyoman Dauh sits in the shade with his family at a shelter in Tanah Ampo, in Karangasem Regency on Indonesia's resort island of Bali after his village at the base of Mount Agung volcano became a danger zone due to its potentially sudden eruption. The last time Bali's Mount Agung volcano erupted in 1963, a stream of molten lava flattened teenage Gusti Nyoman Dauh's home, while cascading ash, rocks and hot gas killed 1,600 of his neighbours. / AFP PHOTO / BAY ISMOYO

One farmer said he was worried that lava flows could destroy his house and farm.

"If my house is destroyed I don't know how to restart my life. I don't know where my kids will sleep and all I can do now is pray," said Gusti Gege Astana, 40.

Officials also noted there are around 30,000 cattle within the danger zone around the volcano, and efforts are being made to move the livestock as it is an important source of income for many residents.

More than 1,000 people were killed the last time Mount Agung erupted, in 1963.

An elderly woman who survived that eruption said evacuation instructions had come much earlier this time.

"Back then we weren't evacuated until it got really dangerous. Life went on as normal when ash and gravel were falling on us, until the big lava came out and destroyed everything," said 82-year-old Gusti Ayu Wati.

Indonesia has nearly 130 active volcanoes, more than any other country. Many of these show high levels of activity but it can be weeks or even months before an actual eruption.

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