Residents in the shadow of Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra are bracing for the worst as the volcano on Tuesday had its most powerful eruption since awakening from centuries of sleep last month.
The 2,460-meter-tall volcano spewed ash as high as 5,000 meters into the air, which rained down onto evacuation centers up to eight kilometers away.
“After this eruption, we now face uncertain conditions and we need to stay alert because nature can do anything,” Surono, head of the Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Agency (PVMBG), told the Jakarta Globe.
“The volcano took its longest time [to erupt], and at the same time this is the most powerful [eruption],” he said, adding that the volcano had erupted five times since Aug. 29.
Surono said the chances of another eruption fell between 80 and 100 percent.
“Whether it is getting more dangerous or not, we are still studying [the volcano’s] patterns,” he said. “But at least now we have general knowledge about it — the volcano has a great deal of energy.”
Surono said tremors continued nine hours after Tuesday’s eruption, with more than 80 earthquakes in the 24 hours before the blast. An eruption on Friday was followed by 50 tremors.
Dhika, an official for the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), told the Globe that Tuesday’s eruption had further terrified residents.
“They are still in panic now, as the eruption was very powerful and the tremors were three-times stronger than the tremors of the last eruption,” Dhika said.
Following the explosion, the PMI decided to extend its operations in the region through Sept. 23. Initial plans had called for them to end on Sept. 14.
“People who had gone home are now coming back to the evacuation camps,” Dhika said. “What we can do now is maintain the alert and remain prepared for anything by monitoring [the volcano’s] activities.”
More than 30,000 people living along the volcano’s fertile slopes are taking shelter in cramped camps, mosques and churches in nearby villages since the volcano reawakened.
