REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, KABANJAHE -- The central government and state-owned banks are currently studying the possibility of extending credits to farmers whose land has been affected by Mount Sinabung's eruption, a senior minister said.

"The government will provide financial assistance to farmers whose land was damaged," Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare, Agung Laksono said in his visit here on Sunday.

In addition, the state-owned banks were studying the possibility of extending credits to farmers who have applied for new credits or providing additional loans for farmers who resume planting their land after the emergency phase, the minister noted.

During the emergency phase until November 23, the government through the Social Affairs Ministry has handed cash to the victims.

Mount Sinabung has erupted several times since September this year.

The volcano, which is located 2,460 meters above sea level, erupted again on Sunday at 3:58 p.m.

This latest eruption had caused the volcano to send a cloud of smoke up to 4,000 meters into the sky in the southerly and southwesterly directions.

The volcano also spewed hot clouds, which spread over a 1.2 kilometer radius.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency's spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the hot clouds had claimed no lives, as residents living within a 3 kilometer radius had been evacuated to safer areas.

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