A peaceful morning, zephyrs, whispy clouds wrapping, scarf-like, the towering edifice that is your town’s backdrop. A sudden roar; the clouds are shredded.  The turmoil of a volcano with attitude, a billowing column of ash and rock, tossed effortlessly skyward, reaching heights of 5 to 7 km in a matter of minutes. Not content with this scene, parts of the column collapse into fast-moving, ground-hugging pyroclastic flows that smother and incinerate everything in their path. This was Sinabung a few days ago (February 19, 2018 – the Youtube video is worth watching).

The Indonesian volcano is regarded as active and has been erupting off and on for about 7 years, following a 400-year slumber, although the violence of this event caught many by surprise. Happily, it was short-lived and no lives were lost. But the event does illustrate the fickleness of volcanoes, and like a case of indigestion, a bad-tempered, frequently unpredictable response to rumblings in their internal plumbing. Eruption prediction ideally should provide sufficient warning to all those who live nearby; Sinabung decided otherwise. Continue reading →