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Mt. Sinabung alert status lowered for first time since 2015
The status was lowered at 10 a.m. on Monday after the PVMBG had recorded reduced volcanic activity for the last 10 months.
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A policeman guards a danger zone in Mount Sinabung area, Karo regency, North Sumatra, on Monday. The authorities have lowered the alert status of the volcano from the highest level of level IV to the second-highest. (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)
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he Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) has lowered the alert status for Mount Sinabung in Karo regency, North Sumatra, from the highest Level IV to Level III (siaga or watch) for the first time since 2015.
The status was lowered at 10 a.m. on Monday after the PVMBG had recorded reduced volcanic activity for the last 10 months.
“In the last 10 months, Mt. Sinabung’s lava dome has not grown and has emptied out. Based on our seismic data of the mountain, the intensity of its magma pressure and supply has not increased,” PVMBG head Kasbani added.
Mt. Sinabung roared back to life in 2010 for the first time in 400 years. After another period of inactivity, it erupted in 2013 and has remained highly active since. The PVMBG declared the highest alert status in June 2015 before finally lowering it for the first time now.
Kasbani said Mt. Sinabung’s seismic activity started decreasing last July, while earthquakes occurring between January and May this year were associated with hydrothermal processes dominated by gas or steam.
As for the eruptions which occurred on May 7, 11 and 12, Kasbani regarded the activities as sudden magmatic pulses, which were not preceded by increasing volcanic earthquakes. This shows that there was no magma pressure from inside the mountain, hence the intensity of the eruptions was relatively small.
“If we compare the earthquake energy from 2013 to 2019, the energy in 2019 is way smaller,” he said.
