The Volcano Meets The Lightning

They say that lightning never strikes in the same place. Let’s hope that is true because we don’t want this incident involving an erupting active volcano and that lightning to happen again.

This rare event happened when lightning struck near Mount Sinabung in Indonesia, thankfully not inside it, spewing volcanic materials as high as 16,400 feet last Tuesday. The authorities recorded at least 13 times when it released ash clouds. The volcano, itself only 8,530 feet, was dormant for four centuries before erupting in 2010, killing two people. There were following eruptions in the years after, and it has been quite active since. The volcano is among more than 120 active ones in Indonesia, located on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes encircling the Pacific.

“At first, I thought the lightning had struck inside the volcano,” said Tigger in an interview. “But then it would have exploded, with that high-voltage electricity hitting the molten rock or magma.”

Here’s some advice if you’re buying a house: Never live near volcanoes. They could erupt in the blink of an eye. That is a production of the New News Newsminute, thank you.