April 13, 2017 Eruption of Sinabung

Lava spewing from multiple eruptions that started last week at Mount Sinabung in Karo regency, North Sumatra, has destroyed the entire Simacem village, which is located in the area's "red zone" and a mere 3 kilometers away from the volcano. There have been no reports of fatalities as residents were relocated to the neighboring Siosar village several years ago. No buildings were spared in the disaster, which killed livestock and much of the surrounding wildlife, including birds and monkeys, according to Pelin Depari, a volunteer who was part of the team assisting in Simacem's

evacuation.

"There were no [signs of] life there; only a barren, deserted place," he told The Jakarta Post. A team of volunteers entered Simacem on Sunday after receiving reports of pyroclastic flow encroaching the area. They discovered flattened trees and buildings, but there was nothing left of the small village. Susanto Ginting from Indonesian Volunteer Society (MRI) in Karo explained that spewing hot lava from the volcano's crater started to burn the village at around 2 a.m. on Friday a violent eruption.

"It's been almost seven years since [local residents] experienced the impact of Mount Sinabung's eruption. They

have gotten used to it and are not afraid anymore," said Susanto, a resident of Gurukinayan village located some

7 km from the volcano. He added that he has felt tremors coming from Sinabung every day since eruptions started a little over a week

ago.

Volcanic activity has intensified following the collapse of the lava dome on April 9, according to Ardi, an officer from the Center of Volcanology, Disaster Mitigation and Geology (PVMBG) stationed at Sinabung's monitoring post.

"The lava dome grows everyday, but since the dome -- with a volume of more than 2 million cubic meters -- collapsed last week, Sinabung's eruptions have increased in intensity," he said, warning residents around the volcano to remain vigilant. Mount Sinabung erupted four times on Friday, with the largest eruption occurring at 1 a.m. and shooting volcanic ash 2,000 meters into the air. It erupted again on Sunday.

(above from reference #11812)