A volcano that has been rumbling for several days, but hadn't erupted for four hundred years, has erupted, sending smoke and ash 5,000 feet into the air, and causing thousands of people to flee.

Reuters reports that this morning, Sunday, just after midnight, on the Indonesia island of Sumatra, in the North, on Mount Sinabung, nature released smoke and ash and lava, and man issued a red alert. Sumatra has had its share of earthquakes this past year and now an erupting volcano!

Twelve thousand people were evacuated and face masks were distributed. There were no reports of casualties. So far the airborne ash is not posing a risk to aviation. Of course, video footage of the Mount Sinabung was posted on YouTube. See the video.

Watching the video gives one a glimpse at the speculator sight of an erupting volcano, and reminds one of the power of nature and of the fragility of man.