Mount Sinabung: Airlines issue 'red notice' as Indonesian volcano erupts on island of Sumatra

Mount Sinabung on the Indonesian island of Sumatra has shot billowing columns of ash more than five kilometres into the atmosphere and hot clouds down its slopes. Despite dramatic images emerging from the scene at Mount Sinabung on the island of Sumatra, there were no reported fatalities or injuries from the morning eruption. “The Bureau of Meteorology's Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) has briefed airlines and will continue to work closely with the aviation industry.”

The volcano, one of three currently erupting in Indonesia, was dormant for four centuries before exploding in 2010, killing two people. Seven people were killed in 2016, 16 people died in the 2014 explosion and two people were killed when in 2010. He said: “Mount Sinabung erupted this morning with high ash column reached approximately 5,000m sounds rumbling and hot clouds accompanied with the range to the northeast as far as 3,500m and southwards as far as 4,900m.”

The Disaster Management Centre said five districts in Karo, North Sumatra were darkened by dust from the ash cloud which descended on villages around the volcano. Mount Sinabung has released so much ash that a red notice was issued to airlines by the regional volcanic ash advisory centre in Darwin, Australia

Approximately 30,000 people have been forced to leave homes around the mountain in the recent years. An estimated 30,000 people living near the mountain have been forced to leave their homes over the past eight years. Mount Sinabung is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
Indonesia's Mount Sinabung has a massive eruption, completely destroying the volcano's peak, with ash reaching over 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) high. Much of the surrounding area is covered with ash.