REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - The emergency response to the eruption of Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra has been extended until January 4, 2014 as the volcano still shows signs of increased activity, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB).
"The Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) is still imposing an exclusion zone within a five-kilometer radius from the mounts peak," Head of BNPB Data and Information Center Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a written statement on Sunday.
At least 18,166 residents (5,644 family heads) have been evacuated. They are taking refuge in 31 different posts.
"We do not know when they will return home. It all depends on the mounts activity," Nugroho said.