Indonesian volcano spews towering gas cloud

JAKARTA: Indonesia's Mount Sinabung spewed searing ash and gas 4 kilometres into the sky Thursday, officials said, as the number of people displaced by the latest round of eruptions exceeded 10,000.
"There were two strong eruptions today and the ash travelled far to the east," said Subur Tambun, chief of the disaster management agency in Karo district in North Sumatra province, where the volcano is located.
The volcano erupted 11 times on Wednesday, sending ash to the provincial capital Medan.
There have been no fatalities since the volcano began its latest period of activity early this month, he said.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo this week arranged 6 billion rupiah (US$450,000, RM1.6 million ) to help local authorities cope with the displaced.
The National Disaster Management Agency said more than 10,000 had fled their homes and more than 6,000 of them have to be relocated for good because they live too close to the volcano.
The relocation is estimated to cost around 600 billion rupiah, said agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
Mount Sinabung has erupted intermittently since late 2013.
Sixteen people were killed and tens of thousands were temporarily displaced during an intense period of eruptions early last year. – dpa