Indonesia's Sumatra island witnesses flash floods that killed at least 37 people while more than a dozen others went missing. As per officials, heavy rains and torrents of cold lava and mud flowing down a volcano's slopes triggered the floods.
According to National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari Monsoon rains and a mudslide from a cold lava flow on Mount Merapi, one of the 120 active volcanoes in the country, caused a river to breach its banks leading the water into mountainside villages in four districts in West Sumatra province just before midnight on Saturday. The floods also swept more than 100 houses and buildings away, said.
By the afternoon of Sunday (May 12), 19 bodies were pulled out by rescuers in the worst-hit village of Canduang in Agam district and nine other bodies in the neighbouring district of Tanah Datar, the National Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement. NSRA also stated that eight bodies were pulled from mud during deadly flash floods in Padang Pariaman, and one body was found in the city of Padang Panjang.
Search for 18 missing continues
He said in his statement that rescuers were still searching for 18 missing people. Flash floods on Saturday night also blocked main roads around the Anai Valley Waterfall area in Tanah Datar district with mud, cutting off access to other cities.Videos released by the NSRA showed roads being transformed into murky brown rivers.
The latest disaster came just two months after another flash flood and a landslide in West Sumatra's Pesisir Selatan and Padang Pariaman districts that killed at least 21 people and left five others missing.
Merapi active since 2023
Merapi is known for quick and sudden eruptions making it highly unpredictable. Last year, 23 climbers lost their lives who were caught by a surprise eruption while climbing the 2,885-metre (9,465-foot) Mount Merapi. The volcano has been highly active since 2023 when it abruptly erupted. However, no casualties were reported then. Since 2011, it has remained at the third highest of four alert levels.
(With Inputs from agencies)
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