Indonesia’s Mt. Sinabung Volcano Erupts for Fifth Time in Eight Days

[ Volcano Erupts in Indonesia, Forces Evacuations – NTDTV ]

The Mount Sinabung volcano in North Sumatra spurred to life again on Monday with its fifth powerful eruption since Aug. 29. The volcano, which towers more than a mile high, spewed huge clouds of black ash more than three miles into the air, raining thick dust 15 miles around.

“The volcano took its longest time [to erupt], and at the same time this is the most powerful [eruption],” Surono, head of the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVMBG), told the Jakarta Globe.

The eruption hit just after midnight, local time, and was followed by thunder-like sounds and nine hours of tremors.

Mountain conditions indicated that chances of another eruption were high, Surono said on Monday, according to local media. Frightened residents living on the slopes of Mount Sinabung prolonged their stay in cramped evacuation centers in surrounding villages.

“Whether it is getting more dangerous or not, we are still studying [the volcano’s] patterns,” Surono said.

Given the latest eruption and powerful tremors which followed, evacuated residents “are still in panic,” said Dhika, an Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) official.

Some 30,000 people are evacuated and have canceled plans to return home. After the Tuesday eruption, PMI decided to stay in the region until Sept. 23. Mount Sinabung had been dormant for more than four centuries before it awoke on Aug. 29.