Earth Changes
Volcanology official Agus Budianto said Friday that authorities were still trying to evacuate residents living along the slopes of Mount Karangetang.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage.
The 5,853-foot (1,784-meter) mountain is located on Siau, part of the Sulawesi island chain. It last erupted in August, killing four people.
Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is located on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
The eruption happened hours after a massive earthquake in Japan that triggered a Pacific-wide tsunami.
The storm, which began on Monday, continued unleashing high winds and snow into Wednesday.
High winds raking southward over the Aegean Sea made for a serious marine hazard for shipping. Ferries linking the many islands and mainland ports were subjected to cuts in service.
Ships were not allowed to sail from Piraeus and a number of other ports, reports said.
A massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake has hit the northeast coast of Japan and triggered a tsunami warning across the Pacific Ocean.
There have been several strong aftershocks and a ten-metre tsunami following the quake, which also caused buildings to shake violently in the capital Tokyo.
Japanese media have reported at least 32 deaths and many injuries, with fires breaking out from Sendai city in northern Japan to Tokyo.
Two people have reportedly been killed by a collapsing ceiling at a Honda factory in Tochigi.
There are major fires at an oil refinery and steel plant in Chiba, east of Tokyo. Dozens of storage tanks are under threat at the refinery.
A series of massive earthquakes have struck north-east Japan, unleashing a 10-metre tsunami that swept buildings, vehicles, crops and debris across swaths of farmland.
The first 8.9 magnitude shock is said to be the biggest to have hit Japan in 140 years, rocking buildings 235 miles (380km) away in Tokyo and sparking fires.
At least five people are known to have died, but amid widespread reports of landslides, floods, collapsed buildings and fires the death toll is expected to rise.
The quake hit at 2.46pm (5.45am GMT), about 6 miles below sea level and 78 miles off the east coast. It was swiftly followed by five powerful aftershocks of up to 7.1 magnitude.
Comment: Japanese state TV footage of the tsunami washing way inland:
Japanese Earthquake / Tsunami TV Coverage March 11, 2011
A tsunami warning was in effect for Japan, Russia, Marcus Island and the Northern Marianas. A tsunami watch has been issued for Guam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and U.S. state of Hawaii.
Japan's NHK says a small tsunami hit the shore near the epicenter around 3 p.m local time.
Japan's meteorological agency warns that a tsunami as high as 20 feet (6 meters) could strike the coast near Miyagi prefecture, closest to the epicenter.
The agency says the quake struck at 2:46 p.m. Friday at a depth of 6 miles (10 kilometers), about 80 miles (125 kilometers) off the eastern coast.
Western gulls have been dying at an alarming rate over the past decade at San Francisco's industrial Pier 94, and preliminary results of a state investigation that found deadly mold inside the bird's lungs are only deepening the mystery surrounding the carnage.
Bird rescuers who recover sick and dying gulls every other day or so from a small industrial patch of waterfront land have long blamed a Darling International-run rendering operation for the deaths.
But, in new findings that are disputed by the bird rescuers, a preliminary California Department of Fish and Game investigation cleared the facility of responsibility for most of the deaths.
The department found 15 to 20 dead or dying gulls monthly, according to California Fish and Game Warden William O'Brien. It performed autopsies on a number of dead gulls and found that growing inside their lungs was a mold called aspergillus, which suffocated the birds.
Friday, March 11, 2011 at 05:46:23 UTC
Friday, March 11, 2011 at 02:46:23 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location:
38.322°N, 142.369°E
Depth:
24.4 km (15.2 miles) set by location program
Region:
NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
Distances:
130 km (80 miles) E of Sendai, Honshu, Japan
178 km (110 miles) E of Yamagata, Honshu, Japan
178 km (110 miles) ENE of Fukushima, Honshu, Japan
373 km (231 miles) NE of TOKYO, Japan

On March 9 at 1445 UTC (10:45 a.m. EST), the GOES-13 satellite captured a visible image of the massive storm system that covers about one-third of the U.S.
Satellites have been busy this week covering severe weather across the U.S. Today, the GOES-13 satellite and NASA's Aqua satellite captured an image of the huge stretch of clouds associated with a huge and soggy cold front as it continues its slow march eastward. Earlier this week, NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite captured images of severe weather that generated tornadoes over Louisiana.
Today the eastern third of the U.S. is being buffered by a large storm that stretches from southeastern Minnesota east to Wisconsin and Michigan, then south through the Ohio Valley and all the way down to eastern Louisiana. That massive storm system was captured in an image by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite called GOES-13.
GOES satellites are operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and NASA's GOES Project, located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. creates some of the GOES satellite images and animations.
Chinese officials said the temblor, which hit while many people were taking their customary afternoon rest, had a magnitude of 5.8 and was centered on Yunnan province's Yingjiang county. (The U.S. Geological Survey, however, reported that it was a 5.4-magnitude quake.)
Here's a short news report:









Comment: The Guardian has released this footage of Japanese MPs in session when the earthquake struck: