Volcano follows earthquake on Indonesian island

A volcano erupted in Indonesia on Wednesday on the same island struck last week by an earthquake and a tsunami disaster that has now killed at least 1,400 people. Mount Soputan, located on Suwalesi, belched out ash as high as 19,700 feet into the sky. Last Friday a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit the island, followed by a 7.5 magnitude quake that triggered a tsunami.

The head of Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geology Disaster Mitigation Agency told a local television station the earthquake likely sped up the eruption. “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,” said Kasbani, who uses just one name. Authorities did not order an evacuation.

The volcano’s eruption will not affect aid delivery to the districts hit by the weekend disaster, according to national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. More than 70,000 people have been displaced from their homes. Indonesian President Joko Widodo said foreign aid has started to arrive in some of the affected districts.