Aid dispatched to Bali as 57,000 flee volcano

KARANGASEM, INDONESIA — Vehicles laden with food, masks and bedding have been dispatched to help more than 57,000 people who have fled a volcano on the tourist island of Bali, as rising magma and increased tremors fuel fears of an imminent eruption.

Mount Agung, about 75 kilometers ( 47 miles) from the Indonesian tourist hub of Kuta, has been rumbling since August, threatening to erupt for the first time since 1963.

“The chance that an eruption will happen is quite big. But it cannot be predicted when it will happen,” Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the disaster mitigation agency, said.

The increased frequency of tremors shows the magma continuing to move towards the surface, with the mountain entering a “critical phase,” the spokesman said.

The Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said there has been an increase in volcanic tremors, with a total of 564 recorded Monday.

Around 62,000 people lived in the danger zone prior to the evacuations, according to the disaster mitigation agency.

Indonesia’s national disaster agency has dispatched 640,000 face masks, 12,500 mattresses, 8,400 blankets, 50 tents, and has a budget of $ 75,000 for assistance.

The central government has set aside a relief fund of nearly $150 million in case of an eruption.

Off icials announced the highest possible alert level on Friday due to the increasing volcanic activity, and told people to stay at least nine kilometers away from the crater.

Trekking tours on the mountain have been canceled by operators but off icials have otherwise been at pains to assure tourists the island is safe.

The airport in Bali’s capital Denpasar, through which millions of foreign tourists pass every year, has not been affected, but several countries including Australia and Singapore have put out a travel advisory.

Mount Agung is one of more than 120 active volcanoes extending the length of Indonesia, which straddles the Pacific Ring of Fire.

It last erupted in 1963, killing nearly 1,600 people and sending ash as far as the capital Jakarta. —