Volcanic eruption hits Indonesian island devastated by earthquake
Mount Soputan has spewed ash into the air on Sulawesi, where hundreds of people died in last week’s catastrophe.
A volcano has erupted on the same central Indonesian island devastated by an earlier earthquake and tsunami, prompting warnings for air services over volcanic ash in the air.
Mount Soputan in North Sulawesi province spewed ash nearly 20,000ft into the sky, although there have been no evacuation orders so far.
“It could be that this earthquake triggered the eruption, but the direct correlation has yet to be seen as there had been an increase in the Mount Soputan activity,” Kasbani, the head of Indonesia’s Vulcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation agency, told online news portal Tempo.
Kasbani, who uses one name, said volcanic activity had been increasing at Soputan since August and began surging on Monday.
He said: “People talk about the butterfly effect. The concept is that when a butterfly flaps its wings, it can cause a catastrophe.
“So it is possible for the earthquake to trigger the volcano eruption, but it’s not conclusive. This needs to be further investigated.”
Mr Nazri said the Soputan volcano eruption is not surprising as Indonesia sits on the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire,” and Soputan is one of the most active volcanoes on the island.
The death toll from last week’s quake and tsunami has increased to 1,407.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has visited the city and said aid is now starting to arrive.
Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 250 million people and government seismologists monitor more than 120 active volcanoes.
