Volcanic eruption on Indonesian island hit by huge earthquake

A volcano erupted yesterday on the same central Indonesian island struck last week by a powerful earthquake and tsunami, and authorities warned airlines about volcanic ash in the air.

Mount Soputan on Sulawesi island spewed a massive column of ash more than 19,700 feet into the sky. No evacuations were immediately ordered.

A government volcanologist said it is possible the eruption was accelerated by the magnitude 7.5 earthquake that struck last Friday.

Kasbani, the head of Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Agency, said: “It could be that this earthquake triggered the eruption, but we have seen an increase in volcanic activity since July and this began surging on Monday. Yet we can’t say there a direct link, as the mountain is quite far away.”

Nazli Ismail, a geophysicist at the University of Syiah Kuala in Banda Aceh on Sumatra island, stressed there was no concrete evidence to show the two incidents are linked.

“People talk about the butterfly effect. The concept is that when a butterfly flaps its wings, it can cause a catastrophe,” he said. “So it is possible for the earthquake to trigger the volcano eruption, but it’s not conclusive. This needs to be further investigated.”

Mr Ismail said the Soputan volcano eruption isn’t surprising as Indonesia sits on the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire” and Soputan is one of the most active volcanoes on the island.

Meanwhile, rescuers are still trying to reach remote areas cut off by the earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 1,400 people.

Efforts have largely been focused on the city of Palu, which has angered people elsewhere, who say they have not received help. The United Nations has warned that large parts of what might be the “worst-affected” areas have not been reached.

It is feared the death toll could grow significantly higher as new areas are reached.

President Joko Widodo is currently on his second trip to disaster-hit areas, but he has been criticised by some villagers.

“The president is not hearing about the remote areas, only about the tsunami and about Palu,” said Yahdi Basma, who is from an area south of Palu.

“There are hundreds of people still buried under the mud in my village.

“I lost many members of my family and neighbours. There is no aid whatsoever.”

More than 500 bodies have already been buried in mass graves.

At least 29 countries have offered humanitarian aid. The UK, Singapore, South Korea, India and Japan have all offered C-130 military transport planes to help deliver supplies and help with evacuations.