A volcano on the same Indonesian island as the earthquake-stricken city of Palu has erupted, prompting authorities to warn of volcanic ash and potential lava flows.
Mount Soputan in North Sulawesi province, around 360 miles northeast of Palu, spewed ash 6,000 meters into the sky on Wednesday at 8.47am local time.
Officials raised the country's four-level volcano alert system from two to three, advising locals to stay away from the mountain and to have masks available in the event of ashfall. No evacuations were immediately ordered.
Planes were warned of ash clouds because volcanic ash is hazardous for plane engines.
Soputan is on the northern part of Sulawesi island, where a central region was severely damaged by an earthquake and tsunami Friday. At least 1,234 died in the disaster, though the death toll is expected to rise sharply.
A government volcanologist suspects the eruption was triggered by the 7.5 magnitude earthquake.
"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 on Monday.
"It is possible that the quake accelerates (the eruption)," he added.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 250 million people, sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Government seismologists monitor more than 120 active volcanoes.
Additional reporting by AP
