BALI VOLCANOES THREATEN TO ERUPT- 1,34,000 EVACUATED

BALI VOLCANOES THREATEN TO ERUPT-

1,34,000 EVACUATED

ബാലിയിൽ അഗ്നിപർവതം പുകയുന്നു- 1,34,000 പേരെ ഒഴിപ്പിച്ചു

Thousands of people have been evacuated on the Indonesian island of Bali and on Ambae island in Vanuatu as two volcanoes threaten to erupt.The entire population of Ambae is being moved from the path of the "increasingly active" Manaro volcano, also known as Lombenben, according to the Pacific nation's government.On the Indonesian island of Bali, more than 134,000 people have been taken to shelters as authorities warn that Mount Agung, in the island's north, could erupt at any time.Both volcanoes sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of intense seismic activity that stretches 40,000 kilometers (25,000 miles) from New Zealand to South America.

That they're showing signs of erupting at the same time is pure coincidence, said Benjamin Andrews, of the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program.Most of the island's 11,000 residents are being taken away by boat, but some are also being airlifted to evacuation centers on Vanuatu's Pentecost and Maewo islands.On Wednesday, a New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) aerial survey found "huge columns of smoke, ash and volcanic rocks billowing from the crater of an erupting volcano" on the island, according to a press release from the agency.The alert level is at 4, the second highest on the scale. "Ambae volcano is in an ongoing moderate eruption state," a statement from Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Department said. People in local villages could experience the danger of flying rocks, volcanic gases and acid rain, the statement added.

"The principal concerns here are that the volcano can eject volcanic rocks to distances of many kilometers from the crater, and that the volcano could erupt ash and/or emit sulfur dioxide," said Andrews, from the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program.Australia had responded to a request for assistance, pledging up to 20.5 million Vatu ($190,000) in "much-needed supplies like food, water, shelter and hygiene kits for affected communities on Ambae," a Vanuatu government statement said Thursday.Australia was also funding surveillance flights over the volcanoes on Ambae and nearby Ambrym island, it added. 134,000 evacuated in Bali. his time, 447 temporary shelters have been set up outside the exclusion zone around the volcano, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.Ngurah Rai International Airport remains open but is on alert in case of ash disruption, and thereare plans to bus people to other airports, if needed.

ഇന്തോനേഷ്യയിലെ ബാലി ദ്വീപിലെ അഗ്നിപർവതം പുകയുന്നു. അഗ്നിപർവതം പൊട്ടിത്തെറിച്ചേക്കുമെന്ന ഭീതിയിൽ 1,34,000 പേരെ ഒഴിപ്പിച്ചതായി അധികൃതര് അറിയിച്ചു. മൗണ്ട് അഗംഗ് അഗ്നിപർവതമാണ് പൊട്ടിത്തെറി മുന്നറിയിപ്പുകൾ നൽകിയത്. അഗ്നിപർവതമുഖത്തിന്റെ 12 കിലോമീറ്റർ(7.5 മൈൽ) ചുറ്റളവിൽ ആളുകൾ എത്തുന്നതിന് വിലക്കുണ്ട്. 1963ൽ മൗണ്ട് അഗംഗ് പൊട്ടിത്തെറിച്ച് 1,100 പേർ മരിച്ചിരുന്നു. കിഴക്കൻ ബാലിയിലെ ഈ സജീവ അഗ്നിപർവതം ടൂറിസ്റ്റ് കേന്ദ്രം കൂടിയാണ്.

Prof. John Kurakar