On Monday, Indonesian authorities reported hundreds of residents living near a highly active volcano have been evacuated as hot ash tumbled down its slope. Based on reports, the volcano erupted over the weekend.

As Mount Sinabung—one of Indonesia's active volcanoes on Sumatra Island—continues to spew hot ash avalanches, villagers were forced to move to safer grounds. According to the local disaster mitigation agency head Subur Tambun, residents from several villages are being moved because of the volcano's increasing activity in the recent days.

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The total number of evacuees has already reached almost 4,000 as authorities raised the alert status of Mount Sinabung, ABC Australia has learned. No injuries were reported as of late.

"Two villages with 1,274 people were evacuated today to safer locations around 10 kilometres away," local military commander Asep Sukarna said. He also added that the government is evacuating approximately 2,500 residents from five to six villages to safer settlements located south of the volcano in the coming days.

On Saturday, 99 families were evacuated from a village when the mountain unleashed a new powerful burst, sending hot ash as far as 3 kilometers (2 miles) down its southeastern slopes.

Since June 2, Indonesian authorities have been closely monitoring Mount Sinabung. And as per local volcanologist Gede Suantika, the status of the volcano was raised to the highest alert level due to the growing size and unstable condition of its crater's lava dome, which was then estimated at 3 million cubic meters (106 million cubic feet).

And since the alert status of the Mount Sinabung was raised two weeks ago, National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said almost 2,800 residents have been moved. Nugroho also added that almost 6,200 other people have been living in temporary shelters since last year.

Known as one of the 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia, Mount Sinabung is reportedly prone to seismic upheaval because it sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," which is an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin. After being dormant for four centuries, Boston Herald revealed that the 2,460-meter (8,070-foot) volcano has sporadically erupted since 2010.

In 2013, Mount Sinabung rumbled back to life after a period of inactivity, causing almost 10,000 villagers to flee for safety, Sky News reported. And last year, a massive eruption killed at least 17 people and displaced thousands of residents to safer settlements.

TagsIndonesia, Volcano, volcanic eruption, Evacuation, Mount Sinabung, natural disaster