Indonesia's Mount Sinabung erupts, ashes thrown 2,000 meters from peak

Mount Sinabung in Indonesia's North Sumatra erupted Thursday with a thick ash column spewed toward the east up to 2,000 meters above its peak, the country's Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center (PVMBG) said.

PVMBG officer Moh Nurul Asrori said the seismograph recorded the eruption at 11:19 am local time, which lasted for 319 seconds.

The PVMBG recommends that people do not move in the danger zone within a 3-km radius of the peak.

The PVMBG also urged people to avoid rivers that originate in the mountain and to wear masks when they have to leave their homes to keep away from the contaminated air.

Mount Sinabung's eruption on May 22, 2016 killed seven people and injured several others, while its eruption on August 8, 2020 displaced tens of thousands of people and closed three villages.