Images showed an eruption visible for miles around, with a cloud of ash climbing in a large vertical column with a mushroom-shaped top.
Indonesia's
Mount Soputan volcano on the quake-and tsunami-hit island of Sulawesi
erupted Wednesday, spewing volcanic ash 4,000 metres into the air.
The
state disaster agency warned people to stay at least four kilometres
(two and a half miles) away but said there was no need to evacuate
for the time being.
Images
showed an eruption visible for miles around, with a cloud of ash
climbing in a large vertical column with a mushroom-shaped top.
(Business
Standard)
Soputan
is around 1,000 kilometres from the town of Palu where a 7.5
magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami that lashed the coastline
killing almost 1,400 people.
Indonesia
is situated on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", a vast zone of
geological instability where the collision of tectonic plates causes
frequent quakes and major volcanic activity.
However,
financing and supporting the early warning system in the long term is
a considerable problem. The buoys alone cost around US$250,000 each
to install and US$50,000 annually for maintenance.
The
three major Indonesian agencies for responsible for earthquake and
tsunami disaster mitigation have suffered from budget cuts and
internal struggles to define roles and responsibilities.
Lastly,
the Palu tsunami event has highlighted that our current tsunami
models are insufficient. They do not properly consider multiple
earthquake events, or the underwater landslides potentially caused by
such quakes.
No
early warning system can prevent strong earthquakes. Tsunamis, and
the resulting infrastructure damage and fatalities, will most
certainly occur in the future. But with a well-developed and reliable
early warning system, and better communication and public awareness,
we can minimise the tragic consequences.
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