Bali volcano: Eruptions, disruptions and lost in paradise

Last year, when Elissa Doherty, a journalist from Australia visited the Indonesian island of Bali, she experienced an earthquake.

Last week, while on yet another visit to the island, it was a natural disaster of a different kind and magnitude that welcomed her.

On November 4, Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano on the remote island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province spewed towering columns of hot ash high into the air since its initial huge eruption. It killed nine people and injured dozens of others, according to AP.

The ash columns were said to be as high as 9 km.

Following the continued eruptions, communities in the Flores Islands have been displaced.

International airlines cancelled flights to and from Bali last week leaving travellers stranded at airports. The fact is ash clouds make it extremely dangerous for flights to take off and land.

Holiday-makers reported being stranded in their hotels and resorts as well.

Lost in Paradise

Relatives of Abhishek Bang from Pali-Marwar, Rajasthan had a tough time trying to return to India from Bali.

"Their scheduled Air India flight from Bali to Delhi was on November 14 but due to the volcano eruption, the flight was cancelled and my relatives were stranded at Bali," Abhishek said.

"My relatives requested Air India to arrange an alternate flight to anywhere in India at earliest due to important work commitments since some airlines like the Singapore Airlines were operating. However, their request was denied. One couple got the flight on November 15 and another on November 16."

Abhishek narrated adding while some other passengers got their rescheduled flight on November 15 itself.

What Abhishek rued about is the fact that his stranded relatives were neither provided accommodation nor any other facility. "All expenses were borne by his relatives themselves,'' he said.

On inquiring about the situation with Air India, Sameek Bhattacharya of Air India informed that Air India has been operating its flights to Bali as per schedule.

"The flight on 13 November 2024 had to be cancelled due to unfavourable weather caused by the recent volcanic eruption. All possible efforts were made to minimise inconvenience caused to our passengers booked on these flights, due to the unforeseen situation, including complimentary rescheduling, accommodation in next available flight(s) or full refunds to those who had opted for it. Safety of our passengers and crew remains the top priority for Air India," Sameek informed.

Ash clouds can be of great concern to one's health. But an Indian tourist from Mumbai who was in Bali last week, however, said for the days he had been there, there were no issues from the ash clouds and everything has been normal.

Now, as flights to Bali and back are slowly being restored, Doherty is back home in Australia.

"Like many travellers, I had initially been concerned that I would be stuck in Bali for days -- or even longer -- due to the impact of the ash cloud," she said.

"But fortunately my return to Australia wasn’t delayed for long and I arrived home safely. It was very sad to hear that lives were lost after the volcano erupted," she said

She, however, pointed out the incident was also a timely reminder that the holiday island sits in the Pacific Ring of Fire, and is prone to natural disasters. With two natural disasters behind her, "I am bracing myself for what might happen when I next return to Bali," Doherty quipped.