TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Mt. Agung alert status lowered from highest level
Change Size
Villagers watch Mount Agung in Bali on Dec. 3, 2017. (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka)
T
he Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) has lowered the alert status of Mount Agung from the highest level, while reducing the exclusion zone from 6 kilometers to 4 km from the crater.
The decision was made at an evaluation meeting at the Mount Agung Observatory in Rendang village, Karangasem, Bali. The meeting was led by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan and attended by related agencies including PVMBG, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) and Bali Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD).
"After monitoring the volcanic activity of Mount Agung in the past month, the PVMBG recommend downgrading Mount Agung’s alert status from beware [fourth level] to alert [third level]. The hazard zone will also decrease to only 4 km from the crater," Jonan told the press conference after the meeting.
Jonan said the decision was made following the decreasing seismic activity of Mount Agung.
Jonan added that displaced people living in shelters could go home. "All of our brothers and sisters who have fled their homes can now return to their villages. This also means that all tourist activities in Bali are declared safe," Jonan said.
BNPB head Willem Rampangilei said the agency will focus on assisting displaced people to return to their villages.
"We also need to carry out other preparations, especially for displaced people whose homes or surrounding infrastructure have been damaged. We will help to repair it," Willem said. (ahw)
