Mapping a Volcano Hazard Area of Mount Sinabung Using Drone: Preliminary Results

Mount Sinabung is still active since its first eruption in 2010 and has been declared as national disaster. The persistent eruptions afterward have been lively and affected severely the surrounding villages located within the 5 km from its crater. The purpose of this study is to explore drone technology and its applicability in mapping a volcanic hazard area. The first essential step in this study is to have a well-defined mission flight in order to acquire air photos that can be processed in the subsequent procedures. The following steps including geometry correction and photos stitching were conducted automatically using proper software. It is found that the resulting photo mosaic and 3D map can be obtained in effective and efficient manner and several important interpretations can be made from them.