Mt. Agung, Indonesia 1963
Mt. Agung is located in Bali, Indonesia and is considered to be of particular importance to the Balinese people. They believe that the massive mountain, which is the highest point on the island, is a replica of Mount Meru, the central axis of the universe. In one legend, the story goes that the mountain is a fragment of Mount Meru which was brought to Bali by the first Hindus. It remains an active volcano and smoke can often be seen rising from its peak.
It was on February 19th, 1963 that residents near Mt. Agung saw the first signs of an eruption. There were loud explosions and clouds coming up from the crater of the volcano. Six days later lava started flowing down the northern side of the mountain. Slowly traveling 7m over the next 20 days. Then on March 17th, the volcano erupted. Debris was sent flying 8 to 10km into the air and enormous pyroclastic flows were created. The flows destroyed everything in its path, including several villages. More than 1500 people died from the initial flows. More destruction came when heavy rainfall caused cold lahars which flowed over the landscape and killed another 200 people. Another smaller eruption on May 16th generated another series of pyroclastic flows which killed 200 more people.
The devastating eruption did spare the Mother Temple of Besakih with lava avoiding the temple completely, though it passed mere yards away at times. The fact that the temple was spared was viewed by some Balinese as a sign that the gods wanted to display their power but not destroy the temple that was built by the faithful Balinese people. Though still active, Mt. Agung has not erupted since 1963 and is now a mountain that is used for recreation as many hikers attempt to reach the summit.