By Gina Gomez
Jakarta, Aug 29, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Mount Sinabung which is situated on the Indonesian island of Sumatra erupted on early Sunday morning for the very first time in about four centuries. The eruption of the volcano which had remained dormant for 400 years caused large number of resident in the adjoining areas fleeing from their homes as they took shelter in temporary relief camps established by the Indonesian authorities. As of now, reports of any loss of life has not been unavailable while the authorities are taking steps to ensure that the situation can be brought under control.

After Mount Sinabung showed the first signs of activity, evacuations began extensively with a whopping 12,000 people already been moved to government buildings and other shelters which are being used as temporary homes. Mount Sinaburg started disgorging lava and black smokes shortly after midnight due to which a red alert has been announced in the region. Government volcanologist Surono who is the head of the nation’s volcano disaster alert center told the media that the seismic activity of the volcano is being kept under close observations while recommending that the people living within a radius of 6 kilometers should evacuate the region without any delay.

The out of the blue eruption of Mount Sinabung sparked a sense of panic among the people residing along the slopes of the mountain as authorities promptly geared themselves up for the relief operations. Indonesia is often in news for its high seismic activities as the region lies on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ which has more than 100 volcanoes.