By Ainur Rohmah
JAKARTA
Indonesia has raised the alert status for Sinabung volcano in North Sumatra province to the highest level, evacuating thousands of people living in the danger zone to the temporary shelters.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman, told Anadolu Agency on Thursday that the mountain's activity had increased sharply over the last two days, causing the volume of its lava dome to expand to more than three million cubic meters.
He said the unstable conditions meant the most active volcano in Sumatra could potentially erupt within days, issuing clouds of ash toward the south and southeast with an estimated range of up to 7 kilometers (4.3 miles).
Subur Tarigan, Disaster Mitigation Agency chief in Karo regency, told Anadolu Agency that the government had evacuated 1,800 residents in two villages within a 7-kilometer radius of the foot of Sinabung to a safe location in the regency’s capital Kabanjahe on Wednesday.
The 2,600-meter-high (8,530 foot) volcano had been dormant for 400 years before a small eruption in Aug. 2010. After a three-year pause in activity, it has erupted several times since Sept. 2013.
On Feb. 1, 2014, a series of eruptions left 16 people dead.
"We don't know when Sinabung will stop erupting,” Nugroho told Anadolu Agency. “This phenomenon is similar to that of Mount Unzen in Japan, which has been erupting for five years after 200 years of no eruption."
Indonesia lies within the Pacific’s "Ring of Fire," where tectonic plates collide and cause frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
