Indonesian volcano erupts again
An Indonesian volcano shot black ash 5,000 meters into the air on Tuesday morning — its most powerful eruption since springing back to life after four centuries of dormancy.
The force of Mount Sinabung's explosion could be felt eight kilometres away.
"This one was really terrifying," said Anissa Siregar, 30, as she and her two sleepy children arrived at an emergency shelter near the base. "It just keeps getting worse."
The volcano in North Sumatra province erupted for the first time since 1600 last week, catching many scientists off guard.
There are fears that current activity could foreshadow a much more destructive explosion in a few weeks or months, though it is possible, too, that the mountain will go back to sleep after letting off steam.
In the last week, more than 30,000 people living along Sinabung's fertile slopes have been relocated to cramped refugee camps, mosques and churches in nearby villages.
But some have insisted on returning to the danger zone to check on their homes and their dust covered crops.
The government sent trucks to the mountain before Tuesday's eruption to help carry them back to safety.
Surono, who heads the nation's volcano alert centre, said intensity at the mountain is clearly increasing.
There were more than 80 volcanic earthquakes in the 24-hour lead up to the blast, compared to 50 on Friday, when ash and debris shot nearly 3,000 meters into the air.
There are 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, a seismically charged region because of its location on the so-called "Ring of Fire" — a series of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.
The archipelagic nation has recorded some of the largest eruptions in history.
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