Bali’s Mount Agung volcano started erupting lava on 25 November, sparking an evacuation order for some 100,000 people.
Indonesian authorities triggered the highest alert level and warned all people left in the Estimated Danger Zone, within five miles (8km), to leave immediately.
So far only half of those ordered to flee have done so, with images showing some locals continuing to go about their daily activities – workers bringing in the harvest or children playing outside with their friends.
But there are some who remain, despite plumes of smoke and visible lava, as they are too sick or elderly to escape.
Despite living at the base of the volcano, Sepi survived the last eruption in 1963 when “rivers of lava reached the sea” and “fire and rocks rained down”.
But this time her grandson, Bukit, fears there will be no escape as the 90-year-old is too old and too sick.
He told Sky News: “Because my grandma is too old, so I am really scared about it.
“I’ve already seen the mountain erupting, and there is smoke. There is also lava.”
Some of the people forced from their homes are among the poorest in Bali.
Farmers or construction workers, many find it hard to earn money while living in the camps.
No one knows when they will be able to return their villages but financial pressures may force some to go home before the danger has passed.
President Joko Widodo implored residents living in the danger zone around Mt Agung to seek refuge in emergency centres.
He said: ”Those in the eight to ten-kilometre radius must truly take refuge for safety.
“There must not be any victims hit by the eruption.”
The disaster agency suggested some were staying behind to protect gardens and livestock.
In a statement, officials said: “Not all villagers in the dangerous radius are willing to evacuate. Until now there are still many people who remain in their houses.”
The volcano’s last major eruption in 1963 killed about 1,100 people, but it’s unclear how bad the current eruption might get or how long it could last.
Around 40,000 people are thought to have abandoned their homes and in the valley, basic wooden sheds protect 369 evacuees from the pouring rain.
Currently the only shelter for many of those who have left home, and inside, the sick and young lie side by side with around 50 people to each tiny hut.
Ni Nyoman Suriati, who has fled with her family, says there’s no other choice.
She said: “I do this to survive. I’m scared of the ash and the cold lava flows.”
Her elderly sister-in-law, Ni Wayan Karya was a young girl when the last volcano erupted. She added: “I was a teenager and I remember what I saw.
“After the rain of rock, then lava flowed into the river until it reached the road. The fire kept crawling down. Some of the villages burned, some of the cows burned.”