Mount Sinabung spews volcanic materials as villagers board a truck to flee their homes following its eruption in Karo
Nearly 6,000 people have been evacuated from their villages following the eruption of Mount Sinabung in western Indonesia.
The 2,600-meter (8,530-feet) volcano in North Sumatra province erupted early Sunday after being dormant for three years, sending thick ash into the sky with small rocks pelting neighboring villages.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said Monday that 5,956 people were evacuated and are being sheltered in seven locations.
Most of the displaced were from six villages located within a 3-kilometer radius of the mountain in Karo district, Nugroho said.
Mount Sinabung's last eruption in August 2010 killed two people and forced some 30,000 to flee. The eruption caught many scientists off guard because the volcano had been quiet for four centuries and was not monitored.