Indonesian officials have warned of a dangerous new eruption of the country's Mount Sinabung volcano, LiveScience reports on Friday. Officials fear that superheated ash and gas coming out of the mountain may indicate that the force of the volcano's eruptions are increasing.
Incredible photos of a massive eruption of the volcano made the rounds on Twitter today.
The Karo provincial government said earlier this week it didn't want to take a chance, ordering 2,500 people to evacuate.
“Mt. Sinabung’s strong eruption today unleashed volcanic ash, pyroclastic clouds and blazing lava, threatening residents in its nearby villages, including Gurukinayan. We evacuated them all,” Karo administration spokesman Jhonson Tarigan told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
In October, Mount Sinabung erupted for the first time in three years. The AP reported at the time that the volcano spewed ash as high as two miles into the air, and covered nearby villages in thick gray ash. Thousands of people were forced to evacuate.
Officials warned people to stay at least 2 miles away from the mountain.
The AP notes that two people were killed when the volcano last erupted in August 2010, after having shown no activity for four centuries.