LAST WEEK, INDONESIA'S Mount Agung began erupting for the first time in more than half a century, ejecting clouds of smoke and ash nearly 23,000 feet into the sky. But as thousands fled the volcano’s slopes, AFP photographer Sonny Tumbelaka sped excitedly towards it. “Eruptions make beautiful pictures,” he says.
Tumbelaka was determined to capture one, and he got his chance on Tuesday night. He was hanging out at the volcano monitoring center, chatting with scientists, when the mountain erupted for the third time in a week. Tumbelaka jumped in his car and drove to a small hill in the eastern subdistrict of Kubu, less than five miles from the crater, where he snapped this dramatic shot of volcanic ash pouring out the glowing, red hot 9,800-foot-high.peak. It doesn’t disappoint. “It’s beautiful,” Tumbelaka says.
Beautiful, but dangerous. The last time Mount Agung erupted in 1963, it killed more than 1,500 people, buried whole villages and caused a drop in global temperatures. The stratovolcano began rumbling again in September, but it wasn’t until November 21 that it finally chucked up a plume of steam and rock. Bigger magmatic eruptions followed over the next week, causing authorities to raise the volcano alert warning to the highest level possible in anticipation of an even bigger "imminent" major eruption. The airport shut down for two days, leaving 120,000 tourists stranded. And nearly 50,000 locals evacuated the six-mile danger zone surrounding the crater, which continues smoking—some no doubt passing Tumbelaka along the way.