Warnings that a volcano on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali will erupt have sparked an exodus of more than 75,000 people that is likely to continue to swell, the country's disaster agency said today. Authorities have ordered the evacuation of villagers living within a high danger zone that in places extends 12 kilometers from Mount Agung's crater.
But people further away are also leaving, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. The region is being shaken 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.
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 is just 6 kilometers (4 miles) 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." PTI
