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fter showing relatively low volcanic activity over the past weeks, Mount Sinabung in Karo regency, North Sumatra, erupted again on Tuesday, triggering pyroclastic flows and spewing volcanic ash that enveloped surrounding areas. Tuesday'€™s eruptions add to the long list of the volcano'€™s major eruptions over the past five years.

At least 20 subdistricts in the four districts of Simpang Empat, Namanteran, Kabanjahe and Berastagi were covered by thick volcanic ash from the volcano, virtually halting daily activities in the regions.

Residents of regency'€™s capital, Kabanjahe, and Berastagi, a popular tourist destination located 30 kilometers from the volcano, stayed indoors as volcanic ash started to blanket the area at 9 a.m. local time.

Rosanni Br Karo of Kabanjahe said she was forced to close her grocery store to prevent the ash from entering.

'€œThick volcanic ash has enveloped our town, although it is located almost 25 kilometers from Mt. Sinabung,'€ Rosanni told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency'€™s (BNPB) spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said Tuesday'€™s eruption was also believed to be the biggest of the past week.

According to Sutopo, there were three eruptions on Tuesday: one at 5:25 a.m., 5:36 a.m. and one at 8:20 a.m. The latest eruption, he added, had sent pyroclastic flows 4,000 meters down the slope heading to the east and southeast with a volcanic ash column of as high as 3,000 meters.

The incident, however, did not lead to the evacuation of more residents, Sutopo said.

Mt. Sinabung, standing at 2,460 meters, was inactive for centuries before erupting in August 2010. Three years later, it erupted again and has never entirely stopped since then, forcing residents living near the volcano to be constantly prepared for evacuation should volcanic activity escalate suddenly.

The eruptions have also claimed more than a dozen lives and destroyed thousands of houses and hectares of farmland.

Earlier this year, authorities increased Sinabung'€™s alert status to the highest level. Since then, the volcano has experienced a series of eruptions, with authorities unable to predict when the evacuees will be able to return safely to their homes.

According to Sutopo, more than 2,500 families from nine subdistricts near the volcano have been evacuated to nine evacuation centers in the regency as of Tuesday.

Separately, Karo Regent Terkelin Brahmana called on local residents to remain patient in dealing with the impacts of Sinabung'€™s eruptions, which some experts have predicted will continue for five more years.

'€œThis is a relatively long time, but Karo people have to understand this natural process,'€ he said.