Some 1,000 Residents Evacuate after Mount Sinabung Erupts

LANGKAT, KOMPAS.com - Some 1,000 people in Karo district, North Sumatra, fled their home on Sunday after the 2,460-meter-high Mount Sinabung erupted earlier in the day.

"They fled their villages to avoid hot lava coming out from Mount Sinabung," Islamic preacher M Pohan of Telaga village, Sei Bingei subdistrict, Langkat district, told ANTARA by phone.     The evacuees who mostly consist of children and parents hail from several villages near the slope of Mount Sinabung. They are being sheltered at Telaga village.     "The 1,000 evacuees are being sheltered at the meeting hall of Telaga village. They arrived at Telaga village on foot at around 03.00 p.m.," Pohan said.      He said some of the evacuees still did not know the whereabouts of their parents and children. "Some of them are still looking for their relatives at the evacuee camp."      Langkat district head Ngogesa Sitepu had ordered the local social service to send relief aid to Telaga village.      "Relief aid consisting of 500 kg of rice, 30 boxes of instant noodle, eggs, 15 kg of sugar, tea and tarpaulin has been sent to the evacuees," Head of the Langkat District Social Service T M Azuai said.          Mount Sinabung erupted for the first time since 1600 on Sunday at 00.15 a.m. On Saturday, the mountain showed its volcanic activity by spewing black clouds.     The Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Center raised the alert status of the mountain to the highest level or red level. The center had also recommended an evacuation of people living within a radius of six kilometers from the crater.