M

ount Sinabung in Karo regency, North Sumatra spewed molten lava, which was followed by successive volcanic tremors as on Monday, halting the process of returning thousands of evacuees to their homes.

Mt. Sinabung observation post employee Nurochman said the volcanic activity remained high as of now despite a drop in alert status to 'vigilant'.

Nurochman added that volcanic tremors had been occurring on almost a daily basis.

'The lava has been continuously flowing down the mountain, and based on ours observation the lava flow is around 200 meters' he told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Nurochman said the area surrounding Mt. Sinabung remained hazardous, especially within a 3 kilometers radius.

Karo regency spokesman Jhonson Tarigan said the volcanic activity remained high as of now. He added the situation had caused concern among evacuees who had just recently returned home.

'Some of the evacuees have not recovered from the trauma of their previous experience, and seeing the lava flowing down Mt. Sinabung again has exacerbated their fear,' said Jhonson.

He added plan to allow evacuees from eight villages to return home as recommended by Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) had already been suspended for almost two weeks now.

Besides the volcanic activity, he claimed that the delay was also due to the volcanic ash that had damaged most of the homes in the surrounding villages.

'Where will they sleep if they return how now? They need materials to restore their homes,' said Jhonson, adding his office has yet to calculate the amount of building materials needed repair evacuees' homes.

He added the local administration would make an inventory of the amount of building materials needed to restore the damaged homes after meeting the evacuees on Monday evening to inform program.

'We will meet the evacuees this evening to arrange the cleanup after their homes were covered by thick volcanic ash. After every home has been cleaned, the evacuees can return to their homes,' said Jhonson.

Sinabung Eruption Emergency Response commander Let. Col. Asep Sukarna, who is also Karo Military Command chief, said 9,321 of the 15,770 evacuees had been given permission to return home. The come from eight villages and a hamlet located outside a 3-km radius of the volcano.

The villages and hamlet are Mardinding, Perbaji, Selandi, Sukanalu, Sigarang-garang, Kutarakyat, Kutatengah and Kutagugung villages and Lau Kawar hamlet.