Thousands flee as volcano erupts on Indonesia’s Sumatra island
Second recent eruption of Mount Sinabung
Thousands of villagers fled on Sunday after a volcano erupted on Indonesia’s Sumatra island spewing rocks and red-hot ash onto surrounding villages, officials said.
Mount Sinabung in Karo district, North Sumatra province, erupted violently before dawn.
“More than 3,000 people have been evacuated from areas within a three-kilometre radius of the volcano, and they are all safe,” Asren Nasution, the head of North Sumatra disaster agency, told AFP.
Five halls normally used for traditional cultural ceremonies had been converted into shelters for those displaced.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, national disaster agency spokesman, said 3,710 people had so far been evacuated.
Nugroho said it was second recent eruption of Sinabung. The volcano was dormant for nearly 100 years before erupting in August and September 2010, forcing about 12,000 people to flee.