‘Watch the sky and pray’: Bali’s volcanic Mt Agung looms large but local miners have little choice but to keep working
About 100,000 residents were evacuated in September when the ground shook and geophysicists predicted a major eruption – but many residents remain
Ketut Suweni shovels gravel on the slopes of Mt Agung while the volcano spews ash clouds. For a second her sandal slips on the pile of black and grey stones and she stumbles onto her hands and knees.
“I keep an eye on the volcano while I work,” she said, wiping grime from her face. “The ash is quite light right now but if the sky turns dark I will leave.”
Trucks carrying sand and gravel, and a few locals on motorbikes, are the only traffic left in the danger zone around Mt Agung. Roughly 100,000 residents were evacuated in September when the ground shook and geophysicists predicted a major eruption. About 55,000 are living in dank, wet evacuation camps outside the 12km danger zone.
Watch: Mt Agung spewing ash in Bali
The volcano is in Bali – the Indonesian island home to 4 million and popular with tourists, although many are choosing to holiday elsewhere since the eruptions. Currently, hotels have 25 per cent occupancy compared to 80 per cent this month last year, according to the Malay Star.
