While the residents of Bali are moving away from the volcano, tourists are photographed against the background of ash emissions
Mount Agung volcano has woken up on the island of Bali in Indonesia for the first time in 54 years. While the locals are being evacuated, tourists are taking pictures against the backdrop of a smoking volcano: Instagram is filled with pictures of them posing in bikinis and doing a handstand. Photos in protective masks-gas masks or with the Lempuyang Temple are popular.
The Agung volcano at one of the world's most popular resorts returned to activity in September 2017. For more than a week, it has been emitting a bright orange glow and throwing out black clouds of ash to a height of up to 9,000 meters. On November 27, Bali International Airport was closed for a day, and the danger level was raised to the highest level.
On Monday, November 27, the authorities recommended that residents of the island living near the volcano immediately leave the territory, warning of the imminent risk of the first major eruption in 54 years. The territory within a radius of 10 kilometers around Agung has been declared an exclusion zone, about 140 thousand local residents have evacuated.
Meanwhile, for tourists, the risk of an eruption has become an entertainment: they pose from a safe distance against the background of ash emissions, including in front of the Lempuyang Temple, which is also called the "stairway to heaven". Many of the photos are signed as "a once-in-a-lifetime snapshot."
Australian Jill Powers said that she always wanted to visit Bali and see an active volcano with her own eyes: "Yes, it sounds stupid, but this item is on my list of things that I need to do in a lifetime. I think it was my only chance to put a tick in front of him."
The last eruption of Mount Agung in 1963 killed about 1,600 people. Local resident Nenga Sedeng, who was seven years old at the time, recalls how he and his family, crying, ran away from the pouring lava, stones and ashes. He had to leave his home at the foot of the volcano and sleep in dilapidated classrooms in the city of Bangli, 20 kilometers from the summit. "I remember running away from the volcano, and I don't want to stay here at all," he said.
The four-year-old daughter of a local resident, Komang Hendra, has already suffered from volcanic ash: the girl has asthma, and in November she had to go to the doctor every week.
Keywords: Bali | Volcano | Smoke | Eruption | Danger | Tourists | State of emergency