Mount Sinabung (Indonesian: Gunung Sinabung, also Dolok Sinabung, Deleng Sinabung, Dolok Sinaboen, Dolok Sinaboeng and Sinabuna) is a Pleistocene-to-Holocene stratovolcano of andesite and dacite in the Karo plateau of Karo Regency, North Sumatra, Indonesia, 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the Lake Toba supervolcano. Many old lava flows are on its flanks and the last known eruption, before recent times, occurred in the year 1600. 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, February and October 2014. A pyroclastic flow in May 2016 killed seven people. Between 2013 and 2014 the alert for a major event was increased with no significant activity. On 2 June 2015, the alert was again increased, and on 26 June 2015, at least 10,000 people were evacuated, fearing a major eruption. The long eruption of Mount Sinabung is similar to Mount Unzen in Japan, which erupted for five years after lying dormant for 200 years.
Video Mount Sinabung
Geology
Mount Sinabung is a Pleistocene-to-Holocene stratovolcano. It is located in a relatively cool area on a fertile plateau with mountains bounding the north. The summit crater of the volcano has a complex, longer form due to vents migrating on the N-S line. The 2,460 meter high andesitic-to-dacitic volcano comes from the Sunda Arc, which is created by the subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate under the Eurasian Plate. The Andaman Islands are on the North-Northwest bound of the arc while the Banda Arc is on the East. Sinabung has a total of four volcanic craters, one of them being active currently.
Maps Mount Sinabung
Eruptions
Mount Sinabung erupted after a centuries-long hiatus in August 2010, and has been continuously active since September 2013. Total erupted volume from 2010 to the end of 2015 was estimated at 0.16 km3 Dense-rock equivalent.
August 2010
On 29 August 2010, the volcano experienced a minor eruption after several days of rumbling. Ash spewed into the atmosphere up to 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) high and lava was seen overflowing the crater. The volcano had been inactive for over four centuries, with the most recent eruption occurring in 1600. On 31 August 6,000 of the 30,000 villagers who had been evacuated returned to their homes. The volcano was assigned to category "B" In Indonesia, as it had been dormant for more than 400 years (volcanoes in category "A", must be monitored frequently). The Indonesian Red Cross Society and the Health Ministry of Indonesia sent doctors and medicines to the region. The National Disaster Management Agency provided face masks and food to assist the evacuees.
September 2010
On Friday 3 September, two more eruptions were noted. The first happened at 4:45 a.m., 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. A second eruption occurred the same evening, around 6 p.m. The eruption came with earthquakes which could be noticed out to a 25.0 kilometres (15.5 mi) distance around the volcano
On Tuesday 7 September, Mount Sinabung erupted yet again, its biggest eruption yet since it had become active on 29 August 2010 and experts warned of more eruptions to come. Indonesia's chief vulcanologist, Surono, said "It was the biggest eruption yet and the sound was heard from 8 kilometres away. The smoke was 5,000 metres in the air". Heavy rain mixed with the ash to form muddy coatings, a centimetre thick, on buildings and trees. Electricity in one village was cut off, but there were no casualties.
Government response
The Indonesian government was reported to have evacuated around 17,500 people from the region on and around the volcano. The government issued the highest-level warning for the area, which was expected to remain in force for around a week, since scientists were unfamiliar with the characteristics of the volcano, due to it having been dormant for so long. The government also set up kitchens for refugees to have access to food and handed out 7,000 masks. Over 10,000 people have been internally evacuated after the eruption, Secretary of the provincial administration, Edy Sofyan told Xinhua by phone. Spokesman of National Disaster Management Agency Priyadi Kardono said the eruption had not been predicted earlier like other volcanoes and that authorities must conduct a quick preparation for emergency work because Mount Sinabung's seismic activity has been monitored intensively only since Friday after it showed an increase in activity. In the wake of the eruption, the National Disaster Management Agency (Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana/BNPB), supported the roughly 27,489 displaced people by providing shelters. In addition, "BNPB has distributed 1,000 blankets, 1,000 sleeping mats and 500 family tents. The local government has allocated 50 tonnes of rice, 14,000 tins of fish, 1 water truck, 1,000 bottles of ketchup, 240 kg of instant noodles, 500 blankets, 50 family tents, 200 sleeping mats, oxygen bottles/tubes for emergency, and 5,000 packs of vitamin C and B6."
Effects
The towns nearest to the volcano are Kabanjahe and Berastagi. There were no disruptions reported to air services at the regional airport, Medan's Polonia. One person was reported dead due to the eruption; he had respiratory problems while fleeing his home.
September 2013
On Sunday 15 September 2013, the volcano erupted at around 3 a.m local time. More than 3,700 people were evacuated from areas within a 3 kilometre (2 mile) radius of the volcano, and five halls normally used for traditional cultural ceremonies were converted into shelters with at least 1,500 being temporarily housed.
November 2013
The volcano erupted again on 5 November 2013, for the third time in as many months, forcing thousands of villagers to evacuate. The Indonesian Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation advised villagers to keep a distance of at least 2 miles from the volcano, while 5,000 people were evacuated from North Sumatra Karo Regency. The eruption has affected the people living around the volcano in more than one way; crops died due to the ash fall leading to an economic change in the area. Sinabung is one of 34 active volcanoes in Sumatra, which straddles the "Pacific Ring of Fire". On 11 November 2013, a pyroclastic flow, a fast-moving avalanche of ash, lava fragments and air, was seen racing down the peak. Since the eruption, Mount Sinabung has been very active in terms of having explosions of ash up to 2 times a day.
December 2013
By 28 December 2013 a lava dome had formed on the summit.
January 2014
On 4 January 2014, the volcano erupted again. "Mount Sinabung, which has erupted over a hundred times between Jan. 4 through the morning of January 5 is spewing out a 4,000 metre (13,000 ft) high column of ash damaging property and crops and poisoning animals over a wide radius."
February 2014
On 1 February 2014 a further eruption occurred that sent clouds of hot ash 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) into the air and engulfed nearby villages. Reports claim that at least 16 people died as a result of the eruption, which occurred just after residents living more than five kilometers from the mountain had been allowed to return home following a lack of recent volcanic activity. Among the dead were a local television journalist and four high-school students along with their teacher, who were visiting the mountain to see the eruptions up close. Seven of the victims were members of the Indonesian Christian Student Movement (GMKI), who died while trying to save local residents as pyroclastic flows swept across Mount Sinabung.
October 2014
Eruptions continued in October 2014. On 5 October, four eruptions in the early hours of the morning were reported by the Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB). The first one produced an ash plume of up to 2 km in height and a pyroclastic flow of 4.5 km in a southerly direction.
The Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) reported eruptions between 6 and 10 October, with some evacuations from surrounding villages. Further eruptions between 20 and 25 October have resulted in a meteorological cloud of ash obscuring some satellite observation. On 26 October the pyroclastic flow travelled 3.5 km and resulted in avalanches in the area.
Recent activity on Mount Sinabung has resulted in higher levels of tourism and sight-seeing in the area. The Tourism Agency of the Karo regency has officially proposed several locations to local government as potential tourist sites. Tours to different villages and viewing sites are already available in the area.
May 2016
An eruption on 22 May 2016 killed at least seven people and critically injuring two more. Activity continued and ash plumes were observed throughout 2016.
Late 2017
Activity increased starting around April 2017, with a large ash eruption on 2 August 2017. Additional activity, including ash plumes, were observed over the next several months. The largest eruption of the year occurred during the last week of December and continued into early 2018.
February 2018
A gigantic eruption took place on 19 February 2018 with large volumes of Ash and Debris shot up thousands of feet into the sky. The country's National Disaster Mitigation Agency said there were no fatalities or injuries. The eruption blew off at least 1.6 million cubic meters of material from the mountain's summit.At 6th April 2018 Mount Sinabung erupts again with large scales of Ash launching up to the sky.
Ecology
An ecosystem responds to volcanism in many different ways depending on the frequency, scale, and severity of the eruptions. Furthermore, it can be assumed that the pyroclastic flow of the eruption, whose temperature was estimated at 700 °C (1,300 °F) by Indonesian officials, killed much of the organic matter including plants and animals. As seen in the Mount St. Helens eruption, many insects would likely die due to the ash fall. This abrasion due to the ash causes quick desiccation. Although many insects may have survived from being in trees that were not torn down or deep in the ground, these insects may not live long after the event due to lack of resources. Many larger animals may not have been able to escape the flow in time. However, like at Mt. St. Helens, many of these animals could recover from pools of survivors and from migrations of other species.
See also
- Mount Sibayak - an active volcano near Sinabung
References
External links
- Media related to Mount Sinabung at Wikimedia Commons
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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