PADANG, Indonesia — Rescuers recovered more bodies Monday after monsoon rains triggered flash floods on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, triggering torrents of cold lava and mud, leaving 41 dead and 17 missing.
Heavy rains, along with a landslide of mud and cold lava from Mount Marapi, caused a river to overflow.
The deluge ravaged mountainous villages in four districts of West Sumatra province shortly before midnight Saturday. The floods swept away people and submerged nearly 200 houses and buildings, some seriously damaged, National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said.
Cold lava, also known as lahar, is a mixture of volcanic material and pebbles that flows down the slopes of a volcano in the rain.
On Monday, rescuers recovered more bodies, mainly from the worst-hit villages of Agam and Tanah Datar districts, bringing the death toll to 41, said Ilham Wahab, who heads the State Disaster Mitigation Agency. West Sumatra.
“Bad weather, damaged roads and access blocked by thick mud and debris are hampering rescue efforts,” Wahab said.
He said at least 19 people were injured in the flash floods and rescuers were searching for 17 missing villagers.
Saturday night’s flash floods also caused mud to block main roads around the Anai Valley waterfall area in Tanah Datar district, cutting off access to other towns, the chief said on Sunday. of Padang Panjang Police, Kartyana Putra.
Videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed roads turned into murky brown rivers and villages covered in thick mud, rocks and uprooted trees.
Heavy rains cause frequent landslides and flash floods in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near floodplains.
The disaster came just two months after heavy rains triggered flash floods and a landslide in West Sumatra, killing at least 26 people and leaving 11 others missing.
A surprise eruption of Mount Marapi late last year killed 23 climbers.
Marapi is known for sudden eruptions that are difficult to predict because the source is shallow and close to the peak, and its eruptions are not caused by deep movement of magma, which triggers tremors recorded on seismic monitors, according to the Indonesian Center of research. Volcanology and geological disaster mitigation.
Marapi has been active since an eruption in January 2024 which caused no casualties. It is one of more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The country is prone to earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific basin.
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Niniek Karmini contributed to this report from Jakarta, Indonesia.
ABC News
