Lives on hold: Balinese grandmother awaits Mount Agung eruption

The last time Bali’s Mount Agung erupted in 1963, more than 1,700 people died. Pyroclastic flows, a fast-moving mixture of gas and volcanic matter, devastated the Indonesian villages around the sacred mountain. The only place spared was the Mother Temple of Besakih, which the lava missed by metres.
Since September 21, fears of a similar catastrophe have gripped the island, causing panicked villagers to flee. Nearly 150,000 evacuees are scattered across 471 relief centres.
On October 1,…