JAKARTA — Volcanic ash from Indonesia's smoldering Mount Sinabung has blanketed parts of Medan, the provincial capital of North Sumatra, forcing residents to wear masks.
Subur Tambun, head of the local disaster mitigation agency, said smoke spewing Wednesday from the mountain is being carried by winds towards Medan.
TV footage showed ash blanketing parts of the city which is about 50 kilometres northeast of the mountain.
According to the monitoring post, there were seven hot ash avalanches Wednesday that slid up to 3,500 metres southeastward. The ash cloud billowed 2,000 metres high.
The 2,460-metre volcano has spewed hot lava almost daily since its alert status was raised early this month to the highest level.