Indonesian volcano erupts again, strongest yet

Mount Sinabung shot a towering cloud of black ash high into the air on Tuesday, dusting villages 15 miles (25 kilometers) away in its most powerful eruption since awakening last week from four centuries of dormancy. Some witnesses at the foot of Mount Sinabung reported seeing an orange glow — presumably magma — in cracks along the volcano's slopes for the first time. This latest eruption was double the previous outburst and volcanologist recorded a tower of ash reaching 5,000 metres (16,400 feet) according to government volcanologist Agus Budianto.



Mount Sinabung spews volcanic smoke as seen from Tanah Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia. "There was a huge, thunderous sound. It sounded like hundreds of bombs going off at one," said Ita Sitepu, 29, who was among thousands of people staying in crowded emergency shelters well away from the base. "Then everything starting shaking. I've never experienced anything like it." AP

Ring of Fire volcano erupts after 400 years

Mount Sinabung erupted after 400 years of dormancy on Sunday and Monday, spewing hot ash thousands of metres into the air and forcing nearly 29,000 villagers living on its slopes to seek refuge in temporary shelters. Thousands of residents who fled to safety after a volcano on Indonesia’s Sumatra island erupted began returning to their homes on Wednesday, officials said.

A thick smoke spews from the summit of Mount Sinabung as it erupts seen from Tanah Karo in North Sumatra. Airlines were warned to avoid the remote Mount Sinabung in northern Sumatra as the volcano spewed a vast cloud of smoke and ash high into the air for a second day after springing to life for the first time in four centuries on August 29. AFP