6000 Villagers Returns to Sumatra’s Volcanic Slope

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TANAH KARO, INDONESIA (GaeaTimes.com) — Despite of a huge risk, thousands of villagers are returning back to the villages near Mt. Sinabung, which erupted suddenly on last Monday in northern Sumatra islands.

The first eruption of Mount Sinabung which caught many scientists off guard over the weekend was followed by a second, more powerful blast Monday that spread soot and debris more than a mile (several kilometers) into the air, leaving the region on high alert. Several domestic flights in North Sumatra province had to be diverted because of poor visibility in that area.

Out of 30,000 people who took shelters in various government buildings, churches, mosques more than 6,000 refugees decided to return home. Others headed up the mountain, saying they just wanted to check up quickly on their farms along the fertile slopes, promising to come back by nightfall. Some piled into the backs of pickup trucks. Others drove their motorcycles or walked up the side of the mountain, which continued to send plumes of white smoke gushing into the air, but with lower intensity than in recent days.

Indonesia is home to some of the largest eruptions in recorded history. The 1815 explosion of Mount Tambora buried the inhabitants of Sumbawa Island under searing ash, gas and rock, killing an estimated 88,000 people.

The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa could be heard 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) away and blackened skies region-wide for months. At least 36,000 people were killed in the blast and the tsunami that followed.