Mount Sinabung Erupts Yet Again, Forcing Evacuations

Mount Sinabungin, a Pleistocene-to-Holocene stratovolcano of andesite and dacite in the Karo plateau of Karo Regency of Indonesia erupted again on Sunday (November 3, 2013), unleashing volcanic ash high into the sky and forcing the evacuation of villagers living in proximity of its slope. National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, explained that Mount Sinabung's alert status was raised to the second-highest level after the 2,600-meter high mountain erupted early on Sunday morning. Authorities in the area were working to evacuate residents from the province villages located in close proximity to the mountain in the three-kilometer surrounding "danger zone", according to Nugroho. This eruption was the second such event since the previous month. The previous October 24th event had also prompted th evacuation of nearby surrounding villages, numbering more than 3,300 people. Mount Sinabung is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia that are prone to seismic activity due to their locations along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

Mount Sinabung spew ash as it is pictured from Simpang Empat village in Karo district, Indonesia's north Sumatra province, November 3, 2013.

A child refugee lies down at temporary shelter as a safety precaution after Sinabung volcano erupted at Tiganderket village in Karo district, Indonesia's north Sumatra province, November 3, 2013.