Warnings that a volcano on the Indonesian island of Bali will erupt have sparked an exodus of more than 75,000 people that is likely to continue to swell, the nation’s disaster agency said yesterday.
Authorities have ordered the evacuation of villagers living within a high danger zone that in places extends 12km from Mount Agung’s crater, but people further away are also leaving, Indonesian National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
The region is being rattled daily by hundreds of tremors from the mountain, which volcanologists say indicates a high chance of an eruption. Mount Agung last erupted in 1963, killing about 1,100 people.
Photo: AP
Evacuees are taking shelter at more than 370 sites across the island that include temporary camps, sport centers, village halls, and the houses of friends and relatives.
Villager Wayan Merta said he was among the first to evacuate last week because his village, Selat, is just 6km from the summit.
“We have already sold our cattle, because we thought it was better than leaving them there for nothing,” he said.
“My feeling is the mountain will erupt,” he said. “But no one knows, we just pray.”
Mount Agung has been rumbling since last month and increasingly frequent tremors show the molten magma is still rising toward the surface, with the mountain entering a “critical phase,” the agency said.
The Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said that a total of 564 volcanic tremors were recorded on Monday.
Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo visited a sports center serving as temporary accommodation in a district south of the volcano.
In a televised news conference, he said that “the highest priority is the safety of our people” and urged those around Mount Agung to follow the instructions of authorities.
Officials have said there is no immediate danger to tourists, but ashfall from an eruption would likely force the closure of Bali’s international airport.
Several countries, including Australia, Singapore and the US, have issued travel advisories alerting holidaymakers to the new risk.
Nearly 5 million people visited Bali last year — most of them from Australia, China and Japan.
Airlines in Australia and Singapore said they were preparing for any disruptions due to an eruption, but flights were running normally for now.
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