Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung volcano experienced its biggest eruption of the year this week, spewing clouds of gas and showering ash into the sky, a local official said Friday. Wednesday’s eruption “was the biggest eruption this year, given the reach of the pyroclastic flow and the size of the area covered by the ashes”, local disaster agency chief Nata Nail told AFP. The eruption sent volanic ash down Sinabung’s slopes, destroying crops and causing misery to hundreds of farmers. In May last year seven people were killed when Sinabung erupted, while a February 2014 eruption left 16 people dead. Indonesia, the world’s most active volcanic region, lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where tectonic plates collide, causing frequent volcanic and seismic activities.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer December 29, 2017 04:52 UTC