120,000 people flee as Bali volcano threatens to blow
Sports centres and hundreds of other buildings are being converted into temporary shelters as villagers flee the danger zone.
Thursday 28 September 2017 10:39, UK
More than 120,000 people have fled the area around Bali鈥檚 highest volcano amid fears it could erupt imminently.
Hundreds of tremors are being recorded daily at Mount Agung, which is said to have entered a "critical phase".
Officials said around 122,500 people have been evacuated from the region and given shelter in temporary camps, sports centres and hundreds of other public buildings on the Indonesian island.
Since Friday, the volcano has been at its highest alert level - prompting authorities to establish a 7.5 mile exclusion zone.
More than 1,100 people were killed the last time Mount Agung erupted in 1963.
Nengah Bunter was among those who witnessed the disaster and has been evacuated amid fresh fears of an eruption.
The 70-year-old said: "At night everything was shaking because of the earthquake, I evacuated on foot through dusty roads.
"Mount Agung had been erupting for three months when the government evacuated us. The lava and rocks had already been flowing near my house."
Nyoman Lanus Kecil, 75, said he fled his home when it began to rain ash and got on a boat to another Indonesian island "but when I arrived there was nothing".
Indonesia sits on the and has 127 active volcanoes - more than any other country.
Heather Handley, earth sciences professor at Sydney's Macquarie University, said the increase of tremors from Mount Agung suggests an eruption is imminent.
She added: "I would definitely be following the advice to stay outside the exclusion zone."
Indonesia's government has set aside a relief fund of nearly $150m (£111m), while the country's disaster agency has dispatched face masks, mattresses, blankets and tents to vulnerable areas.
Five mobile sirens have been installed in the danger zone to warn residents if Agung erupts.