Indonesia's Mount Merapi spewed more heat clouds and ash on Monday as the country struggled to care for 65,000 people displaced by the volcano and a deadly tsunami.

Searing grey fumes and ash shot high into the sky and rolled down the slopes of the 2,914-metre (9,616-foot) mountain, Indonesia's most active volcano, spreading fear and panic among nearby residents in central Java.

Merapi, a sacred landmark in Javanese culture whose name translates as "Mountain of Fire", has convulsed regularly since last Tuesday's major eruptions, driving up to 50,000 people into temporary shelters.

"There'll be more eruptions as not all the energy has been released. Eruptions will continue to take place in the weeks ahead," volcanologist Surono said.

About 1,300 km (800 miles) to the west, officials said aid was slowly reaching survivors of a tsunami, which ravaged coastal villages on the Mentawai Island chain off the coast of Sumatra last Monday.

The latest official death toll stood at 431 with another 88 missing, feared dead, and almost 15,000 made homeless. Emergency response officials denied reports that aid is rotting in ports as desperate survivors scavenge for wild roots a week after the disaster, which struck in an area that scientists have long warned is vulnerable to tsunamis.

"The delays were due to unfriendly weather. But now we can reach the affected areas and aid is being sent, although it's limited," official Joskamatir said. He dismissed reports of looting, poor coordination of the relief effort and food going bad on the docks as "untrue".

"The relief operations are going very smoothly," he added. The three-metre wave was triggered by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake and flattened around 10 villages, destroying schools, mosques and traditional homes along remote and undeveloped beaches popular with foreign surfers.

Survivors have complained that aid has been too slow to reach them, and relief workers have said coordination has been poor. One villager told AFP on Saturday he had been surviving on wild taro roots because aid still had not reached his devastated village, where he said about half the population had been killed.

Demas Sakerebau, a village chief on North Pagai island, said people in his area had been "surviving on yams and bananas". He said aid had reached one hamlet for the first time only on Sunday and described relief packages being dropped by helicopters into the sea, flooded rice paddies and trees.

"Only part of the aid has reached the residents. It wasn't enough," he added. Officials admit that only a fraction of supplies such as food, water, tents, medicine and blankets that have reached nearby ports have been distributed to survivors, citing bad weather and a lack of boats and helicopters.

"We understand that there's been bad weather, that's a serious challenge. But this should have been predicted earlier," said Khalid Saifullah, a coordinator for independent local aid agencies.

"Delays have been due to inadequate preparation." Tonnes of aid have been piling up at the Sumatran port of Padang, half a day's voyage away by sea from the worst-hit islands, and at unaffected towns on the Mentawais such as Sikakap and Tua Pejat.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told officials to ignore the criticism. "I say don't worry about all that," he told a cabinet meeting in Jakarta. "Think of it as a whipping. It always happens. There are people who give direct help, and there are also many who criticise and forget to help."

Australia and the United States have pledged aid worth a total of $3 million while the European Commission released 1.5 million euros ($2 million) for victims of both disasters.

Indonesia straddles a region known as the "Pacific Ring of Fire", with scores of active volcanoes and major tectonic fault lines.

Almost 170,000 Indonesians were killed in the 2004 Asian tsunami, which was also caused by an earthquake off the western coast of Sumatra. Scientists have said last week's quake and the 2004 catastrophe were related.