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Mount Sinabung


Mount Sinabung (Indonesian: Gunung Sinabung) is a Pleistocene-to-Holocene stratovolcano of andesite and dacite in the Karo plateau of Karo Regency, North Sumatra, Indonesia, 25 miles from Lake Toba supervolcano. Many old lava flows are on its flanks and the last known eruption, before recent times, occurred in the year 1600.[citation needed] Solfataric activities (cracks where steam, gas, and lava are emitted) were last observed at the summit in 1912; recent documented events include an eruption in the early hours of 29 August 2010 and eruptions in September and November 2013, January and February 2014

Geology

Most of Indonesian volcanism stems from the Sunda Arc, created by the subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate under the Eurasian Plate. This arc is bounded on the north-northwest by the Andaman Islands, a chain of basaltic volcanoes, and on the East by the Banda Arc, also created by subduction.[3]
Sinabung is an andesitic-dacitic stratovolcano with a total of four volcanic craters, only one being active.[1]

Eruptions 

On 29 August 2010 (local time), the volcano experienced a minor eruption after several days of rumbling.[4] Ash spewed into the atmosphere up to 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) high and lava was seen overflowing the crater.[4] The volcano had been inactive for over four centuries, with the most recent eruption occurring in 1600.[4] On August 31 6,000 of the 30,000 villagers who had been evacuated returned to their homes.[5][6] The volcano was assigned to category “B” In Indonesia, as it was inactive for more than 400 years (volcanoes in category “A”, must be monitored frequently).[7][8] The Indonesian Red Cross Society and the Health Ministry of Indonesia sent doctors and medicines to the region.[6] The National Disaster Management Agency provided face masks and food to assist the evacuees.[6]

September 2010

On Friday 3 September, two more eruptions were noted. The first happened at 04:45 am in the morning, forcing more villagers to leave their houses - some of them had just returned the day before. This eruption was the most intense so far, with ash spewed up into the atmosphere about 3.0 kilometres (1.9 mi) high. Some hours before the eruption a warning had been issued through the volcanology agency, and most villagers were prepared to leave quickly.[9] A second eruption occurred the same evening, around 6 pm. The eruption came with earthquakes which could be noticed in a 25.0 kilometres (15.5 mi) distance around the volcano

January 2014

By December 28, 2013, a lava dome formed on the summit.
On January 4th 2014 the volcano erupted again. "Mount Sinabung, which has erupted over a hundred times between Jan. 4 through the morning of Jan. 5 is spewing out a 4,000-meter high column of ash damaging property and crops and poisoning animals over a wide radius."[19]

February 2014

On 1 February 2014 the volcano erupted again. The eruption ejected hot clouds of ash 2 km into the air. This has engulfed nearby villages and it is reported that at least 14 people have been killed. It occurred just after residents living more than five kilometers from the mountain were allowed to return home due to recent inactivity. [20] Most of the dead were high school students who were on a journey to see the re-eruption of the volcano, while some were local villagers.[21]

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