The Sinabung volcano located in the Karo district of North Sumatra province erupted on Saturday leading to the issuing of a flight alert by Indonesian authorities. According to the National Volcanology Agency the volcano, which is 2,475-meter high, ejected a 2-km high column of volcanic ash.
An orange level volcano observation notice for aviation is in effect, prohibiting planes from flying in the airspace above the area of hot clouds. The possibility of increased eruptions along with the release of hot clouds remains reported Xinhua news agency.
No-fly Zones Declared
Heavy rains of volcanic ash are threatening the areas located in the slope of the volcano, and the volcanic materials may be spread further by the wind to regions located out of the slope.
No-go zones have been declared in the radius of three km from the crater, and four km for the areas situated from the east to the north of the crater, as well as five km for the areas located from the south to the east of the crater.
Reactivation In 2010
Mount Sinabung is one of the 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, a vast-archipelagic nation home to over 17,500 islands. It reactivated in 2010 after nearly four centuries of inactivity. Since then, the volcano has been erupting at regular intervals, leading to mass evacuation of people living in the areas surrounding the volcano.
After its fiery revival in 2010, Sinabung has erupted six times— in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. A total of 23 people were killed in 2014 and 2016 from eruptions. Sixteen people were killed and thousands of others were forced to flee home when Mount Sinabung erupted in 2014.
(With inputs from agencies)
