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Mount Sinabung erupts again; volcanic ash reaches Langkat
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A couple travels by motorcycle on a road in Suka Ndebi village, Namanteran district, North Sumatra, as Mount Sinabung erupts on Feb.19. (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)
Mount Sinabung in Karo, North Sumatra, erupted again on Thursday, releasing volcanic ash as far as neighboring regency, Langkat.
The eruption, which was reportedly triggered by continuous tremors that had occurred since Wednesday, happened at around noon.
“Continuous tremors in the last two days are recorded to have occurred at an amplitude of 3-47 mm. This is an indication that activities of Mt. Sinabung remain very high,” volcanologist Armen Putera, member of the Mt. Sinabung observation team, said on Thursday.
He added that the volcano’s increasing volcanic activity did not change the recommendations on danger zones. The team still recommends that people avoid a radius of 3 kilometers from the crater for those in the northwest sector, 4 km for the southwest sector, 7 km for the south–southeast sector, 6 km for east-southeast sector and 4 km for the northeast sector.
“There has been no change in our danger zone recommendations despite quite a significant increase in volcanic ash blowing in the last several days,” said Armen.
Yono, a Langkat resident, said that although Sinabung volcanic ash had reached Langkat, it had not yet disrupted activities of people in the regency. “The situation is still quite safe,” he said.
First Cpl. Iwan Indrawan of the District Military Command (Koramil) 04/SR said military personnel from the command had conducted patrols to danger zones, which covered Kuta Tonggal, Kuta Tengah and Berastepu villages, to ensure no residents or tourists were still in those areas. (ebf)
