Mount Agung: photos of Bali volcano on brink of eruption
100,000 ordered to leave their homes as Indonesian officials trigger highest alert
Arresting images of Mount Agung on the holiday island of Bali, Indonesia offer an up-close look at the volcano, which is thought to present an “imminent risk” of a major eruption.
Photos taken earlier this week show locals going about their everyday business under the shadow of Mount Agung’s ominous dark clouds.
However, at 6am local time this morning (10pm Sunday night GMT), Indonesian authorities raised the state of alert to its highest level - indicating an “imminent risk of disaster” - and ordered the evacuation of 100,000 people living closest to the volcano.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Indonesia’s National Board of Disaster Management said that “continuous ash puffs... sometimes accompanied by explosive eruptions accompanied by a weak sound of boom” indicate a potential for a larger eruption, The Guardian reports.
The thick clouds billowing out of the crater may look like smoke, but they are actually a mixture of smoke, steam and ash that have been forced out by the rising tide of red-hot magma.
“As the magma moves up, water inside the volcano heats up, steam builds up pressure and it gets to a point where the rock just can't hold it back any more,” volcanologist Janine Krippner told the BBC. “That is what we are seeing now.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
4 ways to give back this holiday season
The Explainer If your budget is feeling squeezed, remember that money is not the only way you can be generous around the holidays
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
4 tips for hosting an ecofriendly Thanksgiving
The Week Recommends Coming together for the holidays typically produces a ton of waste, but with proper preparation, you can have an environmentally friendly gathering.
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Jussie Smollet conviction overturned on appeal
Speed Read The Illinois Supreme Court overturned the actor's conviction on charges of staging a racist and homophobic attack against himself in 2019
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published