Thousands of people have fled a volcanic eruption on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Plumes of ash were seen rising around two kilometres into the sky.

The Sinabung volcano has erupted multiple times over the past 24 hours.

More than 5,000 families are now being put up in community centres outside the danger zone.

Sinabung is one of dozens of active volcanoes in Indonesia, which straddles major tectonic fault lines known as the Ring of Fire.