Mt Sinabung Eruption Turns Deadly

RFD

Superheated pyroclastic flows roar down Sinabung flanks, killing or injuring villagers in Sumatra

At least a dozen people were killed or seriously injured after Sinabung erupted on Saturday, ejecting large clouds of smoke and ash about 3km into the air, as an avalanche of superheated pyroclastic flows descended down the mountain  inundating the village of Gamber.

The victims are thought to be local villagers farming within the 4-kilomere exclusion zone when they were consumed by pyroclastic clouds.

Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra. ANTARA PHOTO/Rony Muharrman/ (Image may be subject to copyright.)

“People and visitors/tourists are not allowed to conduct any activity within a radius of three kilometers from the mountains top. People living in the south and southeast sector are also prohibited to get as near as seven kilometers from the mountains top while those in north and northeast sectors are prohibited to get as near as four kilometers from the mountains top,” said an official at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

About 60,000 people have been displaced since Sinabung volcano awoke in 2013 after a period of dormancy.

Indonesia has 129 active volcanoes, of which at least 79 have erupted since the 1600s. Some 66 volcanoes are continuously monitored from 76 observatories.