Volcano marks first big eruption in nearly eight months

Mount Sinabung spews volcanic material during an eruption in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, March 2, . The 2,600m-tall volcano is among more than 120 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. - AP Photo/Mukhsil Lubis

MOUNT Sinabung sent a cloud of hot ash as high as 5km in its first big eruption since August last year, the country’s volcanology centre said.

Mount Sinabung’s activity has increased since last year and the alert for the volcano in North Sumatra province has been placed at the second-highest level.

No casualties were reported after the eruption yesterday, but an official had earlier urged people to stay at least 3km from the crater, according to Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Centre.

Video clips on social media showed little panic among residents over the eruption, which sent a

column of white ash into the blue sky.

Wirda Br Sitepu, a 20-year-old resident, said the situation had calmed and added that “the mountain is not erupting and the ash has decreased”.

Indonesia straddles the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a highly seismically active zone, where different plates on the earth’s crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.

Indonesia has nearly 130 active volcanoes, more than any other country.

Mount Sinabung had been inactive for centuries before it erupted again in 2010. — Reuters