Threat of forced evacuation near volcano
People who have not left their homes around a rumbling volcano in Bali may be forcibly evicted, Indonesian authorities have said. Tens of thousands of people stayed put near Mount Agung after an alert was raised to its highest level. Some still felt safe while others did not want to leave livestock. A spokesman for the country's National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said people were checking the exclusion zone for non-evacuees. "There are personnel doing the sweeping, if they [residents] need to be forcibly evacuated," Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. The closure of the island's airport was extended for a second day, leaving thousands stranded in the tourist hotspot. Up to 100,000 people live in the area that could potentially be affected by streams of burning rock have been spotted flowing down from the mountain. But by Monday only 40,000 had left. Mount Agung's volcanic tremors first began in September. Since last week dark gas and
