Mount Sinabung erupted after a 400-year-long hiatus in August 2010, On Friday 3 September 2010, two more eruptions were noted.
Government response The Indonesian government was reported to have evacuated around 17,500 people from the region on and around the volcano. 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.
Impacts The towns nearest to the volcano are
Kabanjahe and
Berastagi. 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. 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.
2016 An eruption on 22 May 2016 killed at least seven people and critically injured three more. Activity continued and ash plumes were observed throughout 2016.
2017 sent a 7,000 meter tall
column of ash into the air on 9 June 2019. 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.
2018 A large eruption took place on 19 February 2018, producing a very tall
eruption column. Indonesia'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. Another eruption occurred less than two months later on 6 April 2018.
2019 An eruption took place on 7 May 2019, sending a massive column of ash and smoke 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) into the air, coating local villages in debris. Local residents living along rivers near the volcano were advised to be on alert for possible lava flows. Officials stated that the eruption had the potential to affect aerial flights, though they did not issue a formal advisory for planes to avoid the area at the time. A large eruption occurred on 9 June, at 04.28 p.m., local time, sending a plume of ash 7,000 meters (22,966 feet) into the air, and generating a pyroclastic flow 3‒3,5 kilometers long towards the south and southeast.
2020 On 10 August 2020, Mount Sinabung erupted producing an
eruption column of volcanic materials as high as 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) into the sky.
2021 On 3 January 2021 09:34, Sinabung erupted, a column of ash into the sky. Data from the
Volcanological Survey of Indonesia (PVMBG) indicated that the column was being blown by winds to the west coast. Immediately, the volcano's status was raised to Level III (Alarming). In response, those living within a 5-kilometer radius of the volcano were asked not to do any outdoor activities. The existence of
lahar was said to be potential. The next day, 4 January, at 11:50, it erupted again, sending another column of ash into the sky. On 2 March, Mount Sinabung erupted, spewing a column of ash into the air. No casualties were reported, but people were advised to stay at least three kilometers from the crater by Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center. On 4 April 07:06, Mount Sinabung erupted, spewing a column of ash into the sky. On 28 July 13:20 local time, Mount Sinabung erupted, sending a massive column of smoke and ash 4,500 meters (14,760 ft) into the sky. It also generated pyroclastic flows that traveled down the eastern and southeastern flank for about 1000 m. ==Ecology==