Bali's Gunung Agung Alert Level Raised

[dafluff]

So most of Bali retail locations are out of 3M/N95 respirators. This situation has been "taken advantage" of by some stores. I read today some where charging as much as Rp 49rb for one. That is an outrageous price.


I bought 2 boxes (40 pcs) for Rp 395rb at Tokopedia, shipped to Bali in 3 days. That's less than Rp 10rb each, a much more reasonable price for the paper respirators. There's a darn good chance you can get them before the eruption still....

If you're in Bali and need them, buy them online!

 

[Davita]

Thanks for the heads-up on the masks dafluff. We already had many of those hospital-type masks but your post prompted us to get the N95 model.
Tokopedia have the Besten model N95 for Rp100,500 for 20....will need to wait for arrival so hope Agung's belch is delayed or cancelled.

 

[Puspawarna]

How are things there? Any more bumps or belches? There doesn't seem to be any new news...

 

[dafluff]

How are things there? Any more bumps or belches? There doesn't seem to be any new news...

Today I haven't felt any bumps, and I don't see any reported....so maybe a lull?

 

[dafluff]

Latest update:

 

[scouser59]

I have to say the government deserves "full marks" for their efforts with the camps and to make the people as comfortable as possible , having said that it must be miserable for the evacuees stuck in limbo, I hope the situation is resolved asap, one way or the other.

 

[Anglian]

I have to say the government deserves "full marks" for their efforts with the camps and to make the people as comfortable as possible , having said that it must be miserable for the evacuees stuck in limbo, I hope the situation is resolved asap, one way or the other.

The kids seem to be enjoying themselves, puppet shows, library's, lego and other toys, but let's hope it does go on for too long

 

[Davita]

The kids seem to be enjoying themselves, puppet shows, library's, lego and other toys, but let's hope it does go on for too long

My wife is a member of a team who are organising contributions and one of the volunteers, who comes from the Karangasem area, delivered the collections. She returned with the same observation that the kids think it's a great holiday camp and have never been so well fed.
The problem is they'll soon need communal cooking facilities as the processed food being delivered cannot be too healthy. The organisers are prioritising that and doing a great job.
When it's all over I think Bali will be proud of its achievement but.....unfortunately, it ain't over yet.

 

[dafluff]

I have to say the government deserves "full marks" for their efforts with the camps and to make the people as comfortable as possible , having said that it must be miserable for the evacuees stuck in limbo, I hope the situation is resolved asap, one way or the other.

Agreed. However, many experienced in disaster relief have already warned to pace the support for evacuees. The situation could go on for months, and it is likely that some of thr evacuees will need to be resettled elsewhere if the eruption is severe enough.

 

[scouser59]

Agreed. However, many experienced in disaster relief have already warned to pace the support for evacuees. The situation could go on for months, and it is likely that some of thr evacuees will need to be resettled elsewhere if the eruption is severe enough.

I heard sinabung evacuees have been in camps for a couple of years .

 

[Davita]

Just watched Bali's Governor Pastika make an angry speech on TV. Apparently, out of the approx. 120,000 evacuees there are many who don't even live in the danger area. He's distributing a card to all those whose residency is within the 12 km area. The rest will not get cards, or the benefits from the generous contributions or gov't handouts, and advised to go home.

 

[Puspawarna]

I haven't heard a thing lately about Mount Agung. Has it quieted down?

 

[macvert]

Just watched Bali's Governor Pastika make an angry speech on TV. Apparently, out of the approx. 120,000 evacuees there are many who don't even live in the danger area. He's distributing a card to all those whose residency is within the 12 km area. The rest will not get cards, or the benefits from the generous contributions or gov't handouts, and advised to go home.

Must admit that I saw this coming a mile away, I suppose now it will be like BPJS where they borrow cards ...... BTW, I like the wording of "advised to go home", hopefully that meant something a little more blunt such as : "get the fuck out of here".

 

[dafluff]

I haven't heard a thing lately about Mount Agung. Has it quieted down?

I haven't felt a quake in a few days, so in that way I suppose it has. However, according to official data, the activity is still very high, though probably peaked.

What has quieted down is the press who I guess got bored after the volcano didn't erupt quickly enough.

Latest chart, which I believe goes to October 5. As you can see still pretty active. However if I understand correctly, it could go on like this for a few months even.

 

[Puspawarna]

Thanks for the update. Eek. This is a bad scenario - people can't stay evacuated for forever. If they trickle home and then the mountain blows, not good. I hope it quiets down or blows up soon. But yeah, I've heard the experts say this could go on for months.

 

[dafluff]

Latest chart: yesterday (Okt 6th) was the most active day yet in terms of tremors.

 

[dafluff]

For some excellent on the ground reporting and photos, you can read these blog posts by freelance photographer and long time Bali resident Rio Helmi:

News from Under the Volcano

News From Under the Volcano – part 2

Rio Helmi has updated his blog with more on the ground news. As the previous entries, these are excellent and worth a read:

While there are at least 70,000 people displaced by now, there are still pockets who refuse to move as they feel they are in areas that are well protected. But the issue is that they can easily be cut off. Questions of course: do they have enough food stocks to last at least a couple of weeks? Can they cope with ashfall up to 1 meter high? And though they have great springs and good water, can they protect those from ash, do they have reasonably efficient filters?

News From Under the Volcano – part 3

A long and winding and steep ride later, I get to Penuktukan and find a very warm and hospitable village ready to receive evacuees, and doing it intelligently. They have broken the people from Tulamben up into smaller groups and placed them in various public buildings dotted around the village. This eases the strain on limited sanitation etc facilities and feels much less like a ‘camp’; the bigger ones which I have seen end up making people miserable after two days. The village admin are more than happy to show me different alternatives and we discuss how to adapt the sites. What a lovely warm lot of people they are

News From Under the Volcano – part 4

Wandering around the Les camp I sit and chat with Nengah Mangku Murta from Dusun Bonya, Ban. “I sold all my 8 cows. They were worth 15 million a piece. I got 2 million each. But we need ‘bekel’ (provisions)”. It’s a recurring theme. He is a strong, powerful looking man. So far he, unlike some of his fellow villagers, is abiding by the government order to stay put, but it must be murder for him, sitting around waiting. Bonya is high up on the slopes.

News From Under the Volcano – part 5

 

[scouser59]

A good link ,I hope that something happens soon for the sake of the unfortunates stuck in the camps .

 

[dafluff]

Steam plume out of Mount Agung now reach a height of 1500m. I think the previous height was 200 or 300m.

 

[dafluff]

Here is a live cam from the volcanology observation post in Rendang, Karangasem. Spoiler: It's like watching grass grow...