Sinabung update: evacuees returning to their homes 31 August 2010

There have been no reports of further eruptive activity at Mount Sinabung in Sumatra following the eruptions of 29 and 30 August. Many of the 30,000 villagers evacuated from the environs of the volcano have been returning to their homes despite warnings from Indonesian volcanologists that it is too early to say that the situation is safe: ‘Our instruments have recorded continuous tremors in the volcano, which means that there is magma pushing upward’, says government volcanologist Agus Budianto, ‘We think there’s still a possibility that it will erupt again’. Ashfall from Sinabung has damaged crops, threatening the livelihoods of local farmers.

Meanwhile there are warning from both the Indonesian Government and relief agencies that living conditions for the evacuated people who remain in the temporary shelters are very poor, with bedding and breathing masks in short supply and the danger of disease spreading in the overcrowded accommodation.

The NASA Earth Observatory has a satellite view of Sinabung and surrounding area from 19 May 2003, which shows the intensive cultivation of the region around this volcano.

News
Villagers return to slopes of Indonesian volcano – Associated Press, 31 August 2010
Volcano evacuees in dire need of blankets, masks and sleeping mats – Reuters AlertNet, 31 August 2010
Volcano evacuees stranded as Govt warns of new bursts – Jakarta Globe, 1 September 2010

Information
Global Volcanism Program: Sinabung – summary information for Sinabung (0601-08=)
Volcanological Survey of Indonesia – News and information portal for the Volcanological Survey of Indonesia (site often down)

Another eruption at Sinabung 30 August 2010

Mount Sinabung in Sumatra has followed yesterday’s eruption with a new eruption this morning, reports the Volcanological Survey of Indonesia:

Today, Monday 30 August 2010 at 06:30, Mount Sinabung re-erupted with a column of 2000 metres altitude above the summit. Please be warned of ashfall around Sinabung.

Evacuations have been continuing, with around 16,000 to 20,000 people from villages around Sinabung now living in government shelters. Masks have been distributed by government emergency officials as respiratory problems caused by ashfall are a major hazard.

There is some confusion about the height reached by the emissions produced by this latest eruption. Darwin VAAC (archived advisories here) has issued several volcanic ash advisories (0022Z, 0038Z, 0130Z, 0620Z) warning of ash at FL200 (20,000 feet / 6000 metres) but reports that local weather conditions have prevented satellite confirmation of the ash cloud. Darwin gives ‘CVGHM’ – i.e. the Indonesian volcanological authorities – as the source for the FL200 report, but the VSI clearly states ’2000 metres’, and head Indonesia volcanologist Surono is quoted in the media as saying that ‘volcanic materials were thrown about two kilometres into the sky’. The BBC News report hedges its bets with talk of the volcano ‘sending ash and smoke several kilometres into the atmosphere’ (journalists do love their volcanic ‘smoke’), and reports that domestic flights from Medan Airport have been suspended because of the eruption.

[Thanks to PP for letting me know about the VSI report and providing a translation.]

News
Indonesia volcano erupts again after long dormancy – BBC News, 30 August 2010
Another major eruption sends more refugees from Sinabung – Tempo Interaktif, 30 August 2010
Indonesian volcano erupts again, spewing hot ash – Associated Press, 30 August 2010

Information
Global Volcanism Program: Sinabung – summary information for Sinabung (0601-08=)
Volcanological Survey of Indonesia – News and information portal for the Volcanological Survey of Indonesia (site often down)

Sumatra: thousands flee as Sinabung erupts 29 August 2010

Mount Sinabung volcano on Sumatra erupted shortly after midnight local time on 29 August 2010, producing lava and throwing ash 1500 metres above the summit. Local inhabitants fleeing their homes have spoken of ’thick black smoke, small stones and sulphur’ being produced by the volcano, according to AFP: one local man reportedly died as a result of breathing difficulties suffered during the eruption.

The volcano had been showing signs of activity, rumbling and venting ash, during the 24 hours preceding the eruption: Radio New Zealand reports that ‘it was initially thought that the ash and smoke [sic] were triggered by rain, but when it became clear the driving pressure was from magma, the alert was raised to the highest level’. When the volcano erupted it appears to have taken local communities and the authorities by surprise. BBC News, quoting Indonesia’s Disaster Management Agency, reports that 10,000 people have been evacuated from the surrounding area. According to AFP, ashfall is occurring up to 30 kilometres from the volcano, with local farmers reporting that ash has been deposited on their fields.

Mount Sinabung is a 2460-metre stratovolcano in northern Sumatra, about 60 km SW of the city of Medan. An uncertain eruption is given by the Global Volcanism Program for 1881 and sulphurous gas emissions were apparently reported from the summit in 1912, but there are no historical records of confirmed eruptive activity.

UPDATE. A second eruption is reported to have occurred at around 06:30 local time on 30 August 2010.

News
Thousands flee as Indonesia volcano erupts – AFP, 29 August 2010
Indonesia on red alert as Sumatran volcano erupts – Radio New Zealand, 29 August 2010
Thousands flee Indonesia volcano on Sumatra – BBC News, 29 August 2010
Volcano erupts on Indonesia’s Sumatra after 400 yrs – Reuters, 29 August 2010
Volcano erupts in Indonesia – Sydney Morning Herald, 29 August 2010

Information
Global Volcanism Program: Sinabung – summary information for Sinabung (0601-08=)
Volcanological Survey of Indonesia – News and information portal for the Volcanological Survey of Indonesia (site often down)