Number of people leaving homes in shadow of volcano soars amid fears it could erupt for first time in more than 50 years

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Nearly 50,000 people have been evacuated from their homes amid fears of an imminent volcanic eruption on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

Mount Agung, 47 miles (75km) from the tourist hub of Kuta, has been shaking since August and threatening to erupt for the first time in more than 50 years.

The disaster mitigation agency said 48,540 people had fled and the number was expected to rise because more than 60,000 people lived in the danger zone.

“There are still people who don’t want to be evacuated,” Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, an agency spokesman, said. “The reason is firstly, the mountain hasn’t erupted yet. Secondly, they are worried about their livestock.”

Officials announced the highest possible alert level on Friday after the increasing volcanic activity, and told people to stay at least 5.6 miles from the crater.

Evacuees have packed into temporary shelters or moved in with relatives. About 2,000 cows have been also moved from the flanks of the volcano.

Nengah Satiya left home with his wife three days ago, but said he had been returning from an evacuation centre to the danger zone to tend to his pigs and chickens.

“There are many livestock in our village but nobody is taking care of them,” he said. “We take turns going back to feed them.”

The Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said the mountain was still being rocked by hundreds of volcanic tremors.



“Sometimes the intensity increases, sometimes it decreases, it’s hard to tell when the mountain will erupt,” senior volcanologist Gede Suantika said.

Agung is one of more than 120 active volcanoes that run the length of Indonesia, which straddles the Pacific “ring of fire”. It previously erupted in 1963, killing more than 1,000 people and sending ashes as far as the capital, Jakarta.

The mountain, the highest point in Bali, is an important spiritual site for Balinese, who are predominantly Hindu in Muslim-majority Indonesia.

Pura Besakih, one of the island’s most prominent temples, which is a few miles from the mountain’s slopes, has been closed to visitors since Saturday. It narrowly avoided destruction when lava spilled down the mountain 54 years ago.

Sumerti Jero, a religious leader from nearby Karangasem, said the mountain’s rumblings were a sign it was angry with tourists flouting local customs.

“For example, they have been disobeying the ban for women who have their period to climb Mount Agung,” he said, adding that many tourists would also urinate on the mountain.

Bali attracts millions of foreign tourists to its palm-fringed beaches every year and is a particular favourite with visitors from neighbouring Australia.

A large eruption would have a significant toll on its tourism-dependent economy.

Bali: travel warning issued as volcano threatens to erupt Read more

The airport in Bali’s capital, Denpasar, has prepared buses and trains to divert passengers to alternative hubs in neighbouring provinces if the volcano erupts.

However, officials have insisted the island is generally safe. “Bali is totally dependent on tourism. As long as the planes are still able to fly, I think tourism will be all right,” said Ketut Ardana, chair of the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies in Bali.

Still, tour operators like Mangku, the owner of Bali Trekking Tour, were watching the situation with interest. “Some of our customers have cancelled tours. We understand it’s because of the volcano,” he said.