615 Residents Evacuated as Mount Sinabung Eruption Threat Grows

Mount Sinabung in Indonesia's North Sumatra province erupted again on Wednesday morning, prompting the evacuation of 615 residents from 211 families in Kuta Tengah. The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation reported that the eruption began at 7:20 am local time, with an ash column rising about 1,000 metres above the summit.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said the evacuated residents were moved to an emergency response post, with the village among areas identified as being at risk. According to the New Straits Times, the ash column was observed to be grey to brown and thick, moving towards the east and southeast.

The activity level of Mount Sinabung was raised from Level II (Alert) to Level III (Standby) on Monday after visual and instrumental monitoring showed increased volcanic activity. The danger zone around the volcano has been expanded, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency.

Brief written by urgent.news from Tempo.co English, New Straits Times, Malay Mail, Bernama — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.