Airbnb asks for hosts to open their homes to volcano evacuees in Bali
Airbnb is calling for homeowners on the Indonesian island of Bali to offer shelter to the thousands that have been displaced, as the volcano Mount Agung threatens to erupt.
By Friday afternoon, over 144,000 people had been evacuated in Bali, reports CNN.
From now until Oct. 11, Airbnb is waiving its fees, and asking for people on the island to open their homes to evacuees and relief workers deployed at the scene, for free.
So far, five people have stepped forward to volunteer their homes.
Mount Agung's last eruption in 1963 killed over 1,700 people.
The volcano's imminent eruption coincides with another volcano, Marano, that's about to erupt in Vanuatu's Ambae island, about 5,700 km (3,541 miles) away.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Both Mount Agung and Ambae's Marano volcano sit on the Pacific Rim faultline known as the "Ring of Fire." Their eruptions are reportedly unrelated.
Ambae island's 11,000 residents have been evacuated by boat and helicopter.
In August, Airbnb activated a similar call for support in Barcelona, Spain, after a terror attack which resulted in a dozen people killed and more injured, when a van drove through the crowds.
That initiative attracted over 100 accommodations within a day of the call going out.
Topics Social Good Airbnb
Victoria Ho is Mashable's Asia Editor, based in Singapore. She previously reported on news and tech at The Business Times, TechCrunch and ZDNet. When she isn't writing, she's making music with her band
