An abandoned home and storefront in Sinabung, Indonesia.
Keow Wee Loong: Barcroft Media via Getty Images
In 2010, Mount Sinabung erupted for the first time in 400 years in Sumatra, Indonesia.
The massive blast of lava and ash forced all villagers in the surrounding area to leave their homes.
These eerie photos show the lives left behind in the places the government no longer deems safe.
Indonesia has 120 active volcanoes, and Mount Sinabung is one of the most dangerous.
After 400 years of dormancy, it sprang to life again in 2010. At least two villagers were killed, and thousands more were displaced as the government declared the area too dangerous to inhabit.
However, some villagers, without anywhere else to go, returned to their homes. In 2014, the volcano had its deadliest eruption, killing at least 16 villagers as it spewed lava and ash into the air, reported CBS News. Following this eruption, the government deemed anywhere within a 4.3-mile radius of the volcano too dangerous to live, BuzzFeed News reported.
In addition to making the immediate area unsafe to live in, the volcano's ash has hurt nearby farms. According to The Jakarta Post, farmers in Karo lost at least $2.8 million in 2020 due to the volcanic material that rained from the sky.
Though the volcano was relatively quiet between 2010 and 2013, following its eruption in 2014, it has remained highly active, most recently erupting again in 2020 and 2021.
Most villagers have never gone back to their homes, and only a handful of residents have returned to some of the towns, as The Lost Boys found in 2023. Instead, the towns of Sinabung, Mardinding, and Karo are largely "ghost villages," covered in ash and populated more by passing animals than humans.
Take a look at the eerie photos of the once bustling centers below the volatile Mount Sinabung.
Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra was dormant for 400 years before its eruption in August 2010.
Though there was a brief quiet period following Sinabung's eruption in 2010, it became highly active again in 2013 and has remained so ever since, with the most recent eruption in 2021.
