Bali Volcano Evacuees Sneak Back into Danger Zone

Indonesia — Wayan Suta Negara makes his living mining sand on Mount Agung, the largest mountain on the Indonesian island of Bali. He was born on the slope of the sacred volcano but was forced to leave his home recently when fears of an eruption led to a mass evacuation.

For the past two months, his life has been filled with uncertainty as he waits to see if the mountain erupts in the same spectacular manner it did in 1963. The volcano, which vented huge plumes of ash and smoke earlier this week, could experience a major eruption at any time, officials said on Friday.

Mr. Negara, 26, and his family have fled their home and taken shelter in an empty market stall in the village of Manggis, where the authorities have set up an evacuation center.

Every few days, he returns to his village, an hour away by motorcycle, to feed his dog and chickens. While he is there, he prays for the safety of his home and for his ancestors’ spirits, who according to local belief still reside there.

Every time I go home, I use the opportunity to pray at my house,” he said. “That is very important, so that our house is protected.”

Mount Agung is so large that an eruption would affect not only the island’s residents but the entire world, according to climate scientists: A massive expulsion of smoke and ash could cool the planet and help slow global warming by releasing large amounts of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere. Such particles could reflect sunlight away from the earth for a year or more, as occurred with the eruptions of Mount Agung in 1963 and of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, 1,650 miles north, in 1991.

Bali is often called a tourist island because of its many resorts and attractions, but it is home to more than 4 million people, most of them Hindus, like Mr. Negara.

The 1963 eruption of Mount Agung killed more than 1,000 people. This time, the government has ordered that residents evacuate every village within six miles of the mountain’s summit. About 100,000 people are believed to live in the danger zone.