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Mount
Sinabung spews volcanic materials from its crater in Tanah Karo, North Sumatra,
Indonesia, Wednesday, June 10, 2015. Authorities say they are closely
monitoring the volcano after it was placed at the highest alert level last
week. (AP Photo/Andi Jatmiko)
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A volcano in western Indonesia that has
been spewing clouds of searing gas high into the air let out a new powerful
burst Wednesday.
Authorities
are closely monitoring Mount Sinabung on Sumatra, one of Indonesia's main
islands, after placing in at the highest alert level last week.
Hot
ash tumbled down Sinabung's slopes up to 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) from its
smoldering mouth, government volcanologist Surono said. He urged villagers to
stay out of the main danger zone, which stretches 7 kilometers (4 miles) to the
southeast of the crater. No injuries were reported.
AP report continues:
"The
growing size of the lava dome is very unstable," said Surono, who goes by
one name, adding that smoldering rocks mixed in with hot gases may tumble down
at any time.
The
volcano in North Sumatra province has been shooting smoke and ash more than 500
meters (1,640 feet) into the air since Monday. Authorities counted more than 50
separate eruptions early Wednesday, but said villages outside the evacuated
area were not in immediate danger.
Mount
Sinabung is among about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone to
seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire,"
an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
The
2,600-meter (8,530-feet) Mount Sinabung has sporadically erupted since 2010,
after being dormant for 400 years. An eruption last year killed at least 17
people.
More
than 2,700 people were evacuated from villages around the crater into several
temporary shelters.
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