Indonesian volcano erupts for third time in three months
Sinabung volcano spews thick smoke and volcanic material in Indonesia’s Karo district on September 15, 2013. Thousands of villagers fled the area on September 15 after a volcano erupted on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, spewing rocks and red-hot ash onto surrounding villages, officials said.
About 1,300 people have been evacuated from their homes on the western Indonesian island of Sumatra due to the eruption of Mount Sinabung on Sunday.
It’s the third time the volcano has erupted in three months.
More from GlobalPost: More than 6,200 evacuated after Mount Sinabung volcano erupts in Indonesia
The volcano, located 88 kilometers from Sumatran capital Medan, lay dormant for 400 years. But in August 2010, it erupted suddenly, killing two people and forced 30,000 to flee their villages. It was then quiet for three years.
But in September it erupted again, prompting 15,000 residents to leave the area.
On Sunday, Sinabung threw ash 4.3 miles high up into the air, triggering the evacuations of villages within a three-mile radius of the volcano, including Bekerah, Nardinding, Simacem and Sukameriah.
Indonesia has more than 130 active volcanoes. The most deadly eruption in recent years was of Mount Merapi, near Yogyakarta on the island of Java, which killed more than 350 people when it blew its top in 2010.