Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung sprang to life over the past few years, erupting and releasing destructive pyroclastic flows following 400 years of dormancy. Numerous villages that had been established on its slopes now sit completely empty—declared too dangerous to inhabit by Indonesian authorities. Associated Press photographer Binsar Bakkara recently visited the newly-formed ghost villages of Guru Kinayan, Simacem, Kuta Gugung, and Sibintun, documenting the crumbling houses and personal belongings left behind that serve as “eerie reminders of how life suddenly stopped when the volcano erupted and everyone was forced to evacuate their homes.”