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SURABAYA, Indonesia—Thousands of refugees began returning to their homes after a volcano on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island erupted, despite warnings from government officials that the volcano is still on top alert.
Mount Sinabung erupted for the first time in 400 years last weekend, sending plumes of hot ash and black smoke two miles into the air, forcing nearly 29,000 residents in 34 villages to take refuge in temporary shelters.
As of Sept. 2, thousands of refugees had returned to their fields while 20,000 others are still in the shelters, a local church volunteer Neltianna told the Epoch Times.
"Since the post-eruption situation remains on alert, many villagers were still afraid to return to their houses, some of them came back here at night after doing their activities," he said.
The weather conditions have been harsh since the volcano’s eruption, with rains and skies filled with volcanic ash. Aid workers issued warnings of outbreaks of disease in temporary shelters where, mostly children, have health problems.
"Because of bad weather, many children are suffering from respiratory and digestive disorders, due to poor sanitation and inadequate food,” he added.
The Indonesian Red Cross has set up public kitchens and health care centers at the shelters, and are distributing medical supplies to other affected regions.
Although the volcano shows no overt sign of erupting again, agency officials have not downgraded the alert status of the mount so far.
Meanwhile, the head of Volcano Observation Center and Geological Hazard Mitigation has put another Indonesian volcano on alert following the eruption of Mount Sinabung. In the neighboring province, Mount Seulawah Agam in Acehon Sumatra island’s northwestern tip, was elevated on Thursday from normal to alert level.
The status was raised because of an increase in the mountain’s seismic activity. Residents near the area were prohibited from entering the area within a radius of three kilometers (about 1.9 miles) from the active crater. The last time the volcano erupted was 1839.
Indonesia, which has 129 active volcanoes, has put a number volcanoes across the country on the third level alert. Aceh has three active volcanoes.
