Volcano in West Sumatra, Indonesia erupts

Mount Marapi in West Sumatra erupted on Wednesday, shooting column of ash to the sky and incurring downpours of ash and volcanic sands by up to 10 km to the south of the crater, an official said. Powerful bursts of ash, sand and gravel erupted from the volcano located in Tanah Datar and Agam districts at 16:15 p.m. Jakarta time, but the height of the column could not be determined visually as the feasibility was impaired by haze enveloping West Sumatra due to forest fire in the neighboring province of Riau, said Warseno, the official in charge at the observatory post of the volcano. "A report said that downpours of ash containing sands and other volcanic materials deluged Batipuh sub-district, about 10 km south of the volcano," he told Xinhua via phone from the post. The authorities have closed the area within a 3 km danger zone from the crater as the volcano is in third-highest alert level, said Warseno. So far, the authorities have not yet recommended any evacuation, he said. Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra and Mount Kelud in East Java, two most active volcanoes in the country, erupted earlier this month, claiming 24 lives in total and displacing over 160,000 others. Mount Marapi is among 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia.