At least 37 people killed after floods and cold lava flow hit Indonesia

Strong rains and flowing cold lava and mud from a volcano in Indonesia’s Sumatra island caused sudden floods, which resulted in the death of at least 37 people. More than a dozen others are still missing, according to officials on Sunday.

Heavy rains during the monsoon season, along with a big mudslide from a cold lava flow on Mount Marapi, made a river overflow and destroy villages in West Sumatra province. This happened late at night on Saturday. The floods took away people and covered more than 100 houses and buildings, said Abdul Muhari, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Agency.

Cold lava, also called lahar, is a mixture of volcanic stuff and rocks that flow down a volcano when it rains.

On Sunday afternoon, rescuers found 19 bodies in the village of Canduang in Agam district, and 9 more bodies in the nearby Tanah Datar district, according to the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency.

The agency reported that eight people were found dead in mud during the flash floods in Padang Pariaman, and one person was found dead in Padang Panjang. Rescuers are looking for 18 people who are missing.

Flooding on Saturday night blocked the main roads near Anai Valley Waterfall in Tanah Datar district. This made it difficult to get to other cities. Padang Panjang Police Chief Kartyana Putra said this on Sunday.

Videos from the National Search and Rescue Agency showed roads covered in dirty brown water.

The disaster happened two months after a lot of rain caused floods and landslides in West Sumatra’s Pesisir Selatan and Padang Pariaman districts. At least 21 people died and five are still missing.

Last year, Mount Marapi, which is 2,885 meters tall, erupted and 23 climbers died because they were surprised by the eruption on a weekend. The volcano has been at the third level of alert since 2011. This means there is more volcanic activity than usual. People need to stay at least 3 kilometers away from the volcano. This is for the safety of climbers and villagers.

Marapi is famous for erupting suddenly, and it’s hard to tell when it will happen because the volcano is shallow and close to the top. Its eruptions aren’t caused by deep magma movement, and they make the ground shake on seismic monitors.

Marapi has been erupting since January 2023, but no one got hurt. There are over 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia and this is one of them. The country is at risk of earthquakes because it’s on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a circle of volcanoes and fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.