Mount Agung Evacuation Camp, Bali

Mount Agung Volcano in Bali has threatened to erupt since September 2017.

The exclusion zone around the volcano extends 10km from the crater and more than 50,000 people have been evacuated and living in shelters since then.

On the 25th of November 2017 my partner and I were due to leave Bali, but as we got to the airport all flights were cancelled due to the volcanic ash. We were stranded for a further 9 days whilst the airports were closed and flights were cancelled. On the 27th of November, the alert level was raised to the highest level (stage four) as experts reported a large eruption was ‘imminent.’

We decided to visit one of the evacuation camps and spent 2 days at a camp, where over 3 thousand people were sheltering. The Balinese people are so beautiful and happy, despite living in these camps for over 2 months.

Giving the children a distraction from their daily struggle and difficult environment, we bought them toys and sweets and had so much fun flying kites and chasing bubbles with them. Thank you to our beautiful friend Winnie for making the kids so happy and making them so easy to photograph. I wish these wonderful people to be safe and well and hope they are now back home.