Quake, tsunami – now volcano erupts
A volcano has erupted on the same central Indonesian island as an earlier earthquake and authorities are warning planes about volcanic ash in the air.
Mt Soputan in North Sulawesi province spewed ash 6000 metres into the sky yesterday.
The eruption status was raised from an alert to standby 4 kilometres from the summit and up to 6.5km to the westsouthwest. Standby status means the public should avoid the area nearest the volcano and have masks available in the event of ashfall.
No evacuations were immediately ordered.
Planes were warned of the ash clouds because volcanic ash is hazardous for plane engines.
Soputan is on the northern part of Sulawesi island, where an area was severely damaged by an earthquake and tsunami last Friday.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific ‘‘Ring of Fire’’ and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Government seismologists monitor more than 120 active volcanoes.
Meanwhile, aid was slowly making its way into areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami.
‘‘I’m so happy,’’ said Heruwanto, 63, who goes by one name. He was clutching a box of instant noodles. ‘‘I really haven’t eaten for three days.’’
Food, water, fuel and medicine had yet to reach the hardest-hit areas outside Palu, the largest city heavily damaged in Friday’s disaster. Many roads were broken and split by the violent shaking or blocked by debris. Communications were limited.
The official death toll was 1234, with hundreds injured, but officials said scores of uncounted bodies could still be buried in collapsed buildings.
The United Nations humanitarian office said ‘‘needs are vast’’, with people urgently requiring shelter, clean water, food, fuel and emergency medical care.
Water is the main issue because most of the supply infrastructure has been damaged, UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said. He said the government was co-ordinating emergency efforts, and UN and relief agencies were on the ground or en route.
More than 25 countries offered assistance after Indonesian President Joko Widodo appealed for international help. Little of that, however, has reached the disaster zone, and increasingly desperate residents grabbed food and fuel from damaged stores and begged for help.
Widodo visited the disaster zone yesterday, saying there was still work to be done, but that conditions were improving with businesses starting to reopen, helping people to start returning their lives to normal.
Some homeless residents weren’t waiting for help. Dozens sifted through what remained of a flattened complex of warehouses along Palu’s ravaged coastline, looking for anything they could salvage to help them rebuild or sell. Australia announced it will send 50 medical professionals as part of a $3.6 million aid package.
The United States and China are among other countries that have offered assistance.
Haq said the World Health Organisation was warning that a lack of shelter and damaged water sanitation facilities could lead to outbreaks of communicable diseases. –AP