Damage by Volcanic Ash

The moden Pompeiis of Indonesia: Eerie ghost villages in the shadow of Mount Sinabung lie abandoned after layerd of volcanic ash made them uninhabitable

• The volcano began spewing ash and lava when it came to life 2010 - 400 years after it was last known to be active
• It caused the evacuation of more than 30,000 people from inside a 4.3mile area declared too dangerous to inhabit
• Hundreds of local homes were left abandoned and today lie rotting under layers of volcanic ash and dust

• By Corey Charlton For Mailonline, 
• November 30th, 2015

Crumbling houses, vehicles overgrown by vegetation and ash-covered kitchen utensils - this is all that is left of the villages abandoned when Indonesia's Mount Sinabung erupted five years ago.

The volcano began spewing ash and lava when it came to life in 2010 - 400 years after it was last known to be active. Now these photographs serve as eerie reminders of its power.

The 8,070ft volcano has been erupting sporadically for the past five years, killing 17 people in an eruption early last year and burying the villages of Bekerah in 2013 and Suka Meriah in 2014. Residents of six other villages were also forced to abandon their homes.

All told, more than 30,000 people had to evacuate after a 4.3mile area around the volcano was declared too dangerous to inhabit, and today 6,200 people remain in temporary shelters set up by the local government or are staying with relatives while waiting to be relocated to new homes.

Mount Sinabung is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire,' an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

Mount Sinaburg looms above the abandoned village of Sukanalu, in North Sumatra, in this photograph taken two weeks ago

An old cassette player covered in volcanic ash sits in the exact spot it was left abandoned in the wake of the eruption

The wooden boards on the roof of a house slowly rot and fall to pieces - one of hundreds of homes that were left to decay

The door of what was once a home still remains standing next to piles of debris, while the volcano looms in the background

Hot lava flows from the crater of the volcano. It roared to life in 2010 for the first time in more than 400 years

The inside of this home is turning green with decay after its inhabitants abandoned it, leaving behind a mirror and clock

Pictured are newspapers and paperwork left inside a primary school in the village of Sigarang Garang, North Sumatra

All told, more than 30,000 people had to evacuate after a 4.3mile area around the volcano was declared too dangerous to inhabit

A pair of sandals, left in the same spot since they were abandoned in 2010, are covered in a thick layer of ash

Coffee crops which were once a backbone of the local economy are covered in toxic volcanic dust

Local farmers gaze at Mount Sinabung as it spews deadly ash into the sky during an eruption in June earlier this year

The door of a barn secured with a padlock during the evacuation now has a plant growing through it

A picture displaying the last supper on a tomb in Berastepu village can be seen through the ash covering a cemetery

A truck still holding the timber is was once used to transport can be seen turning yellow after becoming abandoned

Mount Sinabung can be seen looming in the background while two houses slowly decay in the village of Karo

A church stands alone among barren, ash-covered plants in Karo - a town located just a few miles from the active volcano

A bicycle left leaning next to a house in Sigarang Garang village can be seen spattered with volcano mud

A photograph hangs on the wall of an abandoned home in the village of Guru Kinayan - an eerie reminder of the livelihoods abandoned due to the earthquake

Some 30,000 people were evacuated from the area in the wake of repeated volcanic activity. Here are hundreds of their abandoned homes

Volcanic smoke and ash billow into the sky as Mount Sinabung erupts on June 19 earlier this year

Piles of ash-covered shoes lie in a doorway in the village of Sigarang Garang, a few miles from the dangerous volcano

The 8,070ft volcano has been erupting sporadically ever since 2010 and killed 17 people in an eruption early last year

Rotting and water-damaged photographs hang on a wall inside a house in this picture taken just two weeks ago

A motorcycle sits covered in ash that was left blanketing the area following an eruption in February 5, 2014

A villager wears a breathing mask as he cleans his tomato fields which have turned a pale grey colour after the eruption

Chairs are left strewn across a church courtyard which was abandoned following the eruption of Mount Sinabung

All told, more than 30,000 people had to evacuate after a 4.3mile area around the volcano following the earthquake

In this photograph, the smouldering volcano is pictured in the background through the ruins of a house in Simacem

The wreckage of an abandoned van is left overgrown with plants in Simacem village, North Sumatra

A church is all that remains standing at the foot of the volcano following a series of eruptions that forced the relocation of 30,000 people