Nazli Ismail, a geophysicist at Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh, Sumatra, stressed that there isn’t a concrete evidence to point out they’re related.
“People talk about the butterfly effect. The concept is that when a butterfly flaps its wings, it can cause a disaster,” he said. “So it’s possible that the earthquake caused the volcano to erupt, but that’s not clear. This needs to be investigated further.”
The official death toll from the 7.5-magnitude quake that hit the west coast of Sulawesi last Friday was 1,374, with many individuals killed by tsunami waves triggered by the quake.
But officials fear the death toll could rise because many of the confirmed victims are from Palu, a small city 1,500 kilometers northeast of Jakarta, and casualties in distant areas have been largely cut off since Friday.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo made a second visit to the earthquake-ravaged island of Sulawesi on Wednesday, saying efforts were underway to assist survivors and he looked forward to the resumption of economic activities.
“After returning, I noticed that heavy equipment has arrived, logistics has started to arrive, although it is not yet at its maximum utilization, fuel has also partially arrived,” Widodo told reporters.
Asked about efforts to revive power, he said: “It’s all a process. Most importantly, I have asked the governor to reopen economic centers so that people can start returning to their daily activities while the process of evacuation and later rehabilitation and reconstruction continues.”
Widodo, who will run for re-election next 12 months, called on Tuesday for support within the seek for victims, saying everyone have to be found. He repeated this on Wednesday after checking what he called an “evacuation” on the Roa Roa hotel, where – in his opinion – about 30 people were buried within the ruins.
“We hope that the death toll will not increase,” Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said late on Tuesday. “We are continuing the rescue operation, but in the mean time the team is racing against time.”
President Joko Widodo called for reinforcements on Tuesday to look for survivors, saying all of them have to be found.
Nugroho said rescuers had reached all 4 hardest-hit districts, which have a combined population of 1.4 million, but declined to present an estimated death toll. He provided few details in regards to the conditions rescuers found, saying they were just like those in Palu.
The quake destroyed hotels, shopping malls and countless homes in Palu, and shortly after, tsunami waves of as much as six meters rolled across the beach.
The disaster agency said about 1,700 homes in a single area were engulfed by ground liquefaction, which occurs when earth shaken by an earthquake behaves like a liquid, and a whole lot of persons are believed to have died.
More than 65,000 homes have been damaged and greater than 60,000 people have been displaced and want emergency assistance. But supplies are limited.
“Logistics and fuel are still limited,” Nugroho said. “We need a lot of tents. Food, drink, clean water and sanitation are desperately needed.”
The government ordered aid to be airlifted, but there have been no signs of assistance on Palu’s devastated streets and survivors seemed increasingly desperate.
Police did little to stop outbreaks of looting. The government downplayed the issue, saying victims could take essential items with them and that stores could be compensated.
But Widodo, who will seek re-election next 12 months, will likely face mounting questions if conditions don’t improve quickly.
The government has said it would accept offers of international aid after avoiding outside help earlier this 12 months when an earthquake hit the island of Lombok.
“There is still little information on the full scope of the disaster and it is difficult to get aid and people to the affected areas,” Jens Laerke, spokesman for the major U.N. aid coordinating agency, OCHA, said in Geneva on Tuesday.
Humanitarian organizations are in touch with the federal government and are able to help, he added.
“With so many people having lost all their possessions and homes, and many basic services missing, there is an immediate need for food, clean water, shelter, medical care and psychosocial support,” he said.
Indonesia, positioned on the seismically lively Pacific Ring of Fire, has previously been hit by devastating earthquakes and tsunamis. The 2004 earthquake triggered a tsunami within the Indian Ocean that killed 226,000 people in 13 countries, including greater than 120,000 in Indonesia.
Widodo said on Tuesday that the tsunami warning system arrange after the disaster, which has been out of operation since 2012, requires repair and proper maintenance.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press
