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High alert: Mt. Agung eruption imminent
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On alert: Residents evacuate to a temporary shelter in Rendang village, Karangasem, Bali, on Sept. 25. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said Mount Agung had entered a critical phase. (JP/ Anggara Mahendra)
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olcanic activity on Mount Agung on the resort island of Bali has escalated considerably to the point that the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has warned it will be just a matter of time before the volcano erupts.
The BNPB based its bleak conclusion on increasing tremors and satellite data pointing to a swelling of the volcano, indicating that magma is rising to the surface but is still blocked by rock.
“Mt. Agung is entering a critical phase,” BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Monday. “From our observations, there is a big possibility that it will erupt, however, we don’t know when it will happen. There is no instrument to predict a volcanic eruption.”
The authorities have evacuated 48,540 of around 62,000 people who reside within the 9-kilometer radius surrounding the crater, with the governments of the United States, Singapore, Australia and the United Kingdom having issued travel warnings for their citizens traveling to Indonesia.
Bali’s largest and most iconic Hindu temple, Pura Besakih, located around 6 km from Mt. Agung, has been evacuated as it is located in the most dangerous area that will be severely impacted when the eruption happens and the hot pyroclastic flow sets in. Gas flows such as this one have claimed many lives during eruptions in other parts of the archipelago.
“We have asked people to evacuate all affected areas. The eruption is imminent. It could happen tonight, during the day or tomorrow,” the head of the volcanology and geological hazard mitigation center (PVMBG), Kasbani, said.
The BNPB has expanded the danger zone to 12 km from the crater, meaning that around 100,000 residents would be impacted.
