Volcano erupts on Indonesian Island recovering from quake, tsunami

SULAWESI: Days after the devastation from the earthquake and tsunami which killed more than 1300 people, Indonesia has been again under threat of a natural calamity as a volcano has erupted on the island throwing volcanic ash as high as 4,000 meters into the sky.

One of the volcanos in the north of Sulawesi island in Indonesia has erupted after months of increased activity.

The Mount Soputan volcano erupted at 8:47 a.m. local time on the morning of Oct. 3. The eruption was accompanied by an ash plume with a height of 6,000 meters (19,700 feet), sparking a code Red warning for air traffic in the area. Footage of the ash cloud was captured by locals on their phones.

The seismic activity was reported as a continuous tremor, according to Indonesia’s Multiplatform Application for Geohazard Mitigation and Assessment (MAGMA) program, which is part of its Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG). Reports said that ash emissions were continuing to be expelled from the volcano.

Local volcanologists with the PVMBG had been warning hours before the eruption that “the potential for an eruption at Soputan has increased” after they reported signs of greater thermal and seismic activity at the site. As a result, an exclusion zone and a Level III standby warning had been put in place around the volcano just hours before the explosion.

MAGMA tweeted that the four kilometer exclusion zone remained in place, and has been increased to 6.5 kilometers on the west-southwest slopes, in order to avoid the threat of lava and pyroclastic clouds from the stratovolcano. Historically, eruptions at Soputan volcano have been characterized by hot pyroclastic clouds and lava flows on the west-southwest, north and east of the dome.

Locals have been recommended to wear masks cover the nose and mouth to reduce respiratory agitation from the ash. No evacuation has been ordered at this time.

While the population surrounding Soputan was not impacted by the tsunami that killed more than 1,300 people in the island’s west, the whole area has been experiencing significant seismic activity and tremors. Soputan volcano is about 600 km northeast of Palu and surrounding tsunami-struck areas where rescue operations continue in the hopes of finding survivors.