REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MEDAN -- The eruption of Mount Sinabung in the district of Karo, North Sumatra province, on Monday morning has affected the region, the district's first assistant official said. He stated that the air suddenly turned very dark due to the ash sent out by the volcano.

"Until 11 a.m., it was still dark," the official Siang Karokaro told Antara.

The situation in Karo district, however, turned normal again after the ash subsided. He noted that he saw people panicking, including tourists, following the eruption.

Volcanic ashes of Mount Sinabung cover the Tiga Pancur village, Karo, North Sumatra, on Monday (Feb 19).

Now, activities have returned to normal, including tourism activities, he remarked.

The district government and other related offices, such as the Regional Disaster Mitigation Office and the resort police, had taken efforts to clean the area by spraying water.

District head Terkelin Brahman and regional communication forum officials had inspected the field to monitor the situation there. "He was in the field until this afternoon," he added.

Mount Sinabung spew volcanic materials seen from Kutarakyat, North Sumatra.

According to the Geological Disaster Mitigation and Volcanology Center (PVMBG), the eruption this morning was stronger than the ones before and had been followed by after-tremors with a low magnitude.

The volcano spewed hot clouds up to 5 thousand meters high during the eruption.

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