Mount Merapi - Indonesia's most volatile volcano - one of 22 being closely watched following an increase in activity - unleashed its most powerful eruption in a deadly week on Monday, spewing searing clouds of gas and debris thousands of metres into the air. There were no immediate reports of new casualties.
Hundreds of kilometres to the west, a break in weather was helping rescuers get aid to victims of an six-metre-high tsunami that slammed into several remote islands, sweeping entire villages to sea.
The twin disasters, occurring simultaneously on opposite ends of the seismically charged country, have killed nearly 500 people in the last week, while severely testing the government's emergency response network.
In both cases, the military has been called in to help.
Almost all villagers living along Mount Merapi's rumbling slopes have been evacuated, some forcibly by camouflaged troops, though many have insisted on returning to their homes during the day to check on livestock and crops.
The latest eruption was accompanied by several deafening explosions.
As massive clouds spilled from the glowing cauldron and billowed into the air - with no sign of slowing nearly two hours after the blast - debris and ash cascaded nearly six kilometres down the northeastern slopes, said Subrandrio, who is monitoring activity at the mountain that has already killed 38 people.
More than 1 300km to the west, boats and helicopters were ferrying aid to the most distant corners of the Mentawai Islands, where last week's tsunami destroyed hundreds of homes, schools, churches and mosques.
A military helicopter evacuated badly injured survivors who had languished in an overwhelmed hospital with only paracetamol to ease their pain, said Ade Edward, a disaster management official. Among those evacuated was a baby girl born in a shelter after the tsunami and a 12-year-old girl with a life-threatening chest wound.
A C-130 transport plane, six helicopters and four motorised longboats were ferrying food and emergency supplies.
Relief efforts were brought to a halt on Saturday by stormy weather and rough seas but picked up on Sunday and Monday.
“We're really glad to finally see the relief workers, doctors and rescue teams able to reach devastated areas,” Edward said, adding that two navy ships arrived with many more police and soldiers deployed to speed up relief efforts.
The tsunami death toll had reached 450 by Monday, said Nelis Zuliastri from the National Disaster Management Agency. - Sapa-AP