An Indonesian volcano, Mount Sinabung, shot a towering cloud of black ash high in to the air this morning, dusting villages 15 miles away in its most powerful eruption since awakening last week from four centuries of dormancy. The eruption occurred just after midnight in the early hours of this morning during a torrential downpour. Witnesses said volcanic ash and mud oozed down the mountain's slopes, flooding into abandoned homes. Others said saw bursts of fire and hot ash, and the force of the explosion could be felt five miles away. Some witnesses at the foot of Mount Sinabung reported seeing an orange glow - presumably magma - in cracks along the volcano's slopes for the first time. 'It was really terrifying,' said Anissa Siregar, 30, as she and her two children arrived by truck at an emergency shelter near the base, adding the mountain shook violently for at least three minutes. 'It just keeps getting worse.' Mount Sinabung's first eruption last week caught many scientists off guard. With more than 129 active volcanoes to watch, local vulcanologists had failed to monitor the long-quiet mountain for rising magma, slight uplifts in land and other signs of seismic activity (Daily Mail)Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Indonesian volcano erupts scattering ash 15 miles - 30,000 people forced to evacuate danger zone
An Indonesian volcano, Mount Sinabung, shot a towering cloud of black ash high in to the air this morning, dusting villages 15 miles away in its most powerful eruption since awakening last week from four centuries of dormancy. The eruption occurred just after midnight in the early hours of this morning during a torrential downpour. Witnesses said volcanic ash and mud oozed down the mountain's slopes, flooding into abandoned homes. Others said saw bursts of fire and hot ash, and the force of the explosion could be felt five miles away. Some witnesses at the foot of Mount Sinabung reported seeing an orange glow - presumably magma - in cracks along the volcano's slopes for the first time. 'It was really terrifying,' said Anissa Siregar, 30, as she and her two children arrived by truck at an emergency shelter near the base, adding the mountain shook violently for at least three minutes. 'It just keeps getting worse.' Mount Sinabung's first eruption last week caught many scientists off guard. With more than 129 active volcanoes to watch, local vulcanologists had failed to monitor the long-quiet mountain for rising magma, slight uplifts in land and other signs of seismic activity (Daily Mail)