JAKARTA, (PNA/Xinhua) — The number of evacuee has increased to 1,681 as the local authority declared a seven-day emergency period after Mount Sinabung in Karo district of North Sumatra erupted on Sunday, official said here on Monday.
Foods, maskers, sanitation kits and other relief aids have been delivered to the scenes, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of national disaster management and mitigation agency said.
Soldiers, police and officials from the agency were involved in the evacuation and emergency relief works, Sutopo said.
The 2,475 meter (8,120 feet) high Mount Sinabung had a major explosion earlier Sunday, hurdling a cloud of black ash up to 7, 000 meters to the sky. It erupted again in the afternoon.
The authorities recommended the people living in four villages located within 3 km from the crater to evacuate.
Officials raised the level of threat to stand by level, the second highest status, following the hike of seismic activities on the mountain over the recent weeks.
The volcano erupted in September for the first time in three years and has been erupting intermittently ever since.
The Mount Sinabung volcano is among 129 active volcanoes in the vast archipelago country, which is vulnerable to seismic upheaval as it lays on the Pacific “Ring of Fire.”