prince william and queen: 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. Many lava flows are on its flanks and the last known eruption had occurred in the year 1600. Solfataric activity (cracks where steam, gas, and lava are emitted) were last seen at the summit in 1912, but no other documented events had taken place until the eruption in the early hours of 29 August 2010.^[1]^[2]

Geology

For more details on this topic, see List of volcanoes in Indonesia.

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 a long andesitic-dacitic stratovolcano with a total of four volcanic craters, only one being active.^[4]

August 2010 eruption

Wikinews has related news: Mount Sinabung erupts in Sumatra, Indonesia

This section documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

On 29 August 2010, the volcano experienced a minor eruption after several days of rumbling.^[5] Ash spewed into the atmosphere up to 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) and lava was seen overflowing the crater.^[5] The volcano had been inactive for centuries with the most recent eruption occurring in 1600.^[5]

Mount Sinabung is classified as category “B”, which means it is not necessary for it to be monitored intensively. Other volcanoes, in category “A”, must be monitored frequently, the head of the National Volcanology Agency, named only as Surono, told Xinhua over phone from the province.^{[citation needed]}

Authority response

Indonesian authorities were reported to have evacuated around 18,000 people from the region on and around the volcano.^[6] 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.^[6] The government has also set up kitchens for refugees to have access to food, and have handed out 7,000 masks. ^[7] 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 has not been predicted much earlier like other volcanoes and authorities must conduct a quick preparation for emergency work as mount Sinabung’s seismic activity has been monitored intensively only since Friday after it showed an increase in activity.^[8]

Effects

The nearest towns to the volcano are Kabanjahe and Berastagi; there were no disruptions reported to air services at the regional airport, Medan's Polonia.^[9] One person is reported dead from respiratory problems while fleeing his home.^[10]