Fear of Another Eruption Keeps Sinabung Evacuees From Returning Home

Residents of Kuta Tengah village in North Sumatra’s Karo Regency are still unwilling to return home, fearing another eruption of Mount Sinabung. They have chosen to remain in Sukatepu, where they were evacuated.

“We were asked by the government to evacuate, and we agreed because we are also afraid of another eruption,” Roy Sembiring said. He fled with his wife, parents and two children, taking only what they needed to spend the night in Sukatepu.

Roy recalled the 2010 eruption, when he moved between evacuation sites. He said he only resettled in Kuta Tengah in 2020, after years of displacement.

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We were asked by the government to evacuate, and we agreed because we are also afraid of another eruption.

Eva Br Sinulingga also said fear of another eruption had kept residents away from home. “We hope Mount Sinabung becomes calm again so we can return home. We do not want this to become like the past, with years spent in evacuation,” she said.

The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation raised Sinabung’s status to Level III, or Standby, on Aug. 31, 2026. The decision followed an ash column reaching 3,500 meters above the summit and continuing volcanic earthquake activity. A disaster response task force evacuated 490 residents from Kuta Tengah to Sukatepu.

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We hope Mount Sinabung becomes calm again so we can return home. We do not want this to become like the past, with years spent in evacuation.