Mount Soputan volcano erupts during the night, as seen from Lobu village in Southeast Minahasa regency, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, October 3, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Picture taken October 3, 2018. Antara Foto/Adwit B Pramono via Reuters
JAKARTA - Indonesia's Mount Soputan volcano on the quake and tsunami-hit island of Sulawesi erupted Wednesday, spewing volcanic ash 4,000 meters into the air.
The state disaster agency warned people to stay at least four kilometers (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.
Soputan is around 1,000 kilometers 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.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said the family of a retired employee of the Philippine Consulate General in Manado, who are the only Filipinos living near the volcano, were safe.
The Filipino recounted that there were tremors prior to the eruption, the DFA said in a statement.