Mount Sinabung Erupts, No Casualties Reported, as Officials Monitor Activity

The Jakarta Globe, Jun 30, 2014


Jakarta. Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra erupted on Sunday night, sending smoke as high as 4,500 meters, in the latest major eruption since January when 17 people died.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the eruption took place at 7:29 p.m. on Sunday. No casualties were reported.

Volcanic activity, however, was not visibly clear due to rain over the area that evening, and officials observed the eruption based on instruments at the local Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG). Officials have issued a “siaga” or Level 3 alert, which means they will be monitoring the situation.

“The public has been informed of this growing [volcanic] activity. The condition is currently still safe, because hot clouds are going in the direction of the Berastepu village, which is still empty [from the previous evacuation]. Ashes are going in the direction of the Sigarang-Garang and Sukanalu villages,” he said in a text message on Sunday.

The total number of refugees evacuated from Mount Sinabung’s series of eruption since late last year currently stands at 14,382 people, all of whom live in 28 refugee posts and several temporary residential areas.

Sinabung’s eruptions have claimed 17 lives and displaced thousands of people living in the villages of Sukameriah, Bekerah and Simacem in North Sumatra, situated within a three-kilometers radius from the Volcano’s crater.

Flooding, landslides and Mount Sinabung’s incessant volcanic activities have also damaged thousands of hectares of farmland and crops.



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