Sinabung Erupts Again, 615 Evacuated in North Sumatra

Mount Sinabung, an active volcano in North Sumatra, Indonesia, erupted again at 7:20 a.m. local time on Wednesday, sending an ash column approximately 1,000 meters above its summit — about 3,460 meters above sea level — drifting east and southeast, according to the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG).

The fresh eruption follows a larger blast on Monday, when Sinabung sent ash roughly 3,500 meters above its summit and prompted Indonesia's Geological Agency to raise the volcano's alert status from Level II to Level III, the second-highest level on the country's four-tier scale.

Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) said 615 residents — 211 families from Kuta Tengah village in Karo district — remain evacuated and sheltering in nearby Sukatepu village. The eruption also disrupted air travel, with 21 flights cancelled at Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, according to BNPB spokesperson Berton SP Panjaitan.

Authorities continue to bar all activity within a 3-kilometer radius of the summit, extended to 6 kilometers in the south-southeast sector, an area that includes villages previously relocated because of Sinabung's past eruptions. No casualties have been reported so far, officials said, and PVMBG is keeping the volcano under continuous monitoring as conditions develop.

Sinabung, located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, reawakened in 2010 after centuries of dormancy and has erupted intermittently since 2013.