Indonesia evacuates more villagers from volcano area

Authorities in western Indonesia have evacuated hundreds of villagers living near a volcano that is spewing hot ash down its slopes almost daily. Government volcanologist Gede Suantika said at least 28 hot ash avalanches occurred Monday at Mount Sinabung on Sumatra, one of Indonesia’s main islands. It is also believed there are indications the crater’s lava dome continues to grow in size posing further dangers in the coming weeks. The local disaster mitigation agency says hundreds of residents were being evacuated from several villages, bringing the number of people moved in recent weeks to more than 3,000.

They have to be moved because of increasing activities of the volcano in past days.

Subur Tambun, head of the local disaster mitigation agency

Authorities have been closely monitoring Sinabung since June 2, when its status was raised to the highest alert level due to the growing size and unstable condition of its lava dome, then estimated at 3 million cubic meters (106 million cubic feet). 99 families were moved from a village on Saturday when the mountain unleashed a new powerful burst, sending hot ash as far as 3 kilometers (2 miles) down its southeastern slopes. Mount Sinabung is one of about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. The 2,460-meter (8,070-foot) volcano has sporadically erupted since 2010, after being dormant for 400 years. An eruption last year killed at least 17 people.

World Mount Sinabung