Volcano
erupts on same Indonesian island as earlier quake
3
October, 2018
A
volcano has erupted in central Indonesia and authorities have warned
planes about volcanic ash in the air.
Mount
Soputan in North Sulawesi province spewed ash 6,000 meters into the
sky Wednesday morning (local time). No evacuations were immediately
ordered.
A
government volcanologist suspects the eruption was triggered by the
7.5 magnitude earthquake in Central Sulawesi.
"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," the volcanologist, Kasbani, told online
news portal Tempo.
Kasbani,
who uses one name and leads the Vulcanology and Geology Disaster
Mitigation agency, said volcanic activity had been increasing at
Soputan since August and began surging Monday. "It is possible
that the quake accelerates (the eruption)," he added.
Soputan's
eruption status was raised from an alert to standby 4 kilometers (2.5
miles) from the summit and up to 6.5 kilometers to the
west-southwest. Standby status means the public should avoid the area
nearest the volcano and have masks available in the event of ashfall.
Planes
were warned of the ash clouds because volcanic ash is hazardous for
plane engines, howvever, disaster agency BNPD says it will not impact
flights at this stage.
Sam
Ratulangi International Airport, located southeast of the volcano,
will operate as usual for now.
Face
masks to help residents deal with the ash have been issued to the
community.
"The
community does not need to evacuate because they are still safe,"
the latest alert reads.
"Within
a 4km radius there is no settlement. So it's still safe."
Planes were warned of the ash clouds
because volcanic ash is hazardous for plane engines, howvever,
disaster agency BNPD says it will not impact flights at this stage.
Photo / BNPB
The
BNPD says the current alert for Mount Soputan is a level 3 "standby",
which means the community should not be active in all areas within a
4km radius of it speak.
Nearby
communities have been advised to prepare for rain ash but remain
calm.
A
spokesperson for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and
Trade said the situation was being monitored.
"At
this stage are not aware of the Soputan volcano eruption adversely
impacting aid delivery to the tsunami affected regions in Central
Sulawesi," the spokesperson said.
ALMOST
1350 KILLED IN TSUNAMI-QUAKE AFTERMATH
Friday's
earthquake and tsunami disaster in central Sulawesi has killed nearly
1350 people according to disaster response officials, prompting
Australia to send emergency healthcare support to the region.
More
than 50 Australian medical professionals will be sent to Indonesia to
help in the aftermath, as part of the $5m package.
"We
will be working very closely with the Indonesian government to make
sure that the support we are providing is highly targeted,"
Defence Minister Marise Payne told reporters in Washington.
Australia's
foreign affairs department has been asked whether the eruption of Mt
Soputan will affect aid being sent to Palu, they are yet to provide
comment.
Australia
has also offered emergency relief supplies including shelter, water
and hygiene kits, as well as to deploy defence force personnel to
assist the Indonesian Government with their response.
It's
understood the Indonesian authorities are still considering what
resources they will need as the remoteness of the area and loss of
communications infrastructure continues to makes it difficult to
assess the full scale of the disaster at this stage.
Meanwhile,
trucks carrying food for desperate survivors have rolled in with a
police escort to guard against looters.
The
United Nations and relief agencies have now sent in more
reinforcements to help the decimated region.
UN
deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said on Tuesday that "needs are
vast" for the devastated country, with Indonesians urgently
requiring shelter, clean water, food, fuel and emergency medical
care.
In
the days after the magnitude 7.5 earthquake and tsunami struck,
supplies of food, water, fuel and medicine had yet to reach the
hardest-hit areas outside Palu, the largest city that was heavily
damaged. Many roads in the earthquake zone are blocked and
communications lines are down.
"We
feel like we are stepchildren here because all the help is going to
Palu," said Mohamad Taufik, 38, from the town of Donggala, where
five of his relatives are still missing.
"There
are many young children here who are hungry and sick, but there is no
milk or medicine."
National
disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the death toll
was expected to rise.
Hundreds
of other people have been injured, and scores of uncounted bodies
could still be buried in collapsed buildings in Sigi and Balaroa
under quicksand-like mud caused by the quake.
More
than 25 countries have offered assistance after Indonesian President
Joko "Jokowi" 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.
"Australia
has expertise, it has resources in particular areas," Prime
Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in Perth.
"We're
looking to see how we can best fit the need to ensure that we can do
whatever we can to support our Indonesian friends and neighbours in
this time of very genuine need."
An
aircraft carrying 12,000 litres of fuel had arrived. and trucks with
food were on the way with police escorts to guard against looters.
Many gas stations were inoperable either because of quake damage or
from people stealing fuel, Mr Nugroho said.
PAY
ATTENTION TO DONGGALA'
The
frustration of waiting for days without help has angered some
survivors. "Pay attention to Donggala, Mr Jokowi. Pay attention
to Donggala," yelled one resident in a video broadcast on local
TV, referring to the president. "There are still a lot of
unattended villages here."
The
town's administrative head, Kasman Lassa, all but gave residents
permission to take food — but nothing else — from stores.
"Everyone
is hungry and they want to eat after several days of not eating,"
Lassa said on local TV. "We have anticipated it by providing
food, rice, but it was not enough. There are many people here. So, on
this issue, we cannot pressure them to hold much longer."
Nearly
62,000 people have been displaced from their homes, Mr Nugroho said.
Most
of the attention has been focused so far on Palu, which has 380,000
people and is easier to reach than other hard-hit areas.
UN
spokesman Mr Haq said that relief agencies are on the ground or en
route. He said the agencies are working closely with the government
to provide technical support.
He
told reporters that water is the main issue because most of the water
supply infrastructure has been damaged.
He
said the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs has asked the UN
children's agency, UNICEF, to send social workers to the affected
area to support children who are alone or became separated from their
families.
Mr
Haq said the World Health Organisation warned that a lack of shelter
and damaged water sanitation facilities could lead to outbreaks of
communicable diseases.
Soputan
is on the northern part of Sulawesi island, where a central region
was severely damaged by an earthquake and tsunami Friday.
Indonesia
has dozens of active volcanos.
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