(Tanah Datar) At least 34 people have died and 16 are missing after floods and cold lava flows on the island of Sumatra, in western Indonesia, a spokesperson told AFP on Sunday. word of the Sumatran search and rescue agency.
The tragedy occurred on Saturday around 10:30 p.m. local time (11:30 a.m. Eastern time) in the districts of Agam and Tanah Datar, in the west of the island of Sumatra, where torrential rains fell for several hours on the region, causing flash floods and cold lava flows from Mount Marapi, a volcano on the island.
Cold lava is a magma formed by the various materials that make up the walls of a volcano: ash, sand and rocks. Under the effect of rain, these can mix and flow along the crater.
“As far as we know, 34 people died: 16 in Agam and 18 in Tanah Datar. At least 18 people are injured. We are also still looking for 16 other people,” spokesperson Ilham Wahab told AFP.
PHOTO REZAN SOLEH, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Part of a road collapsed after flash floods and a flow of cold lava from a volcano in Tanah Datar on May 12.
A previous report reported 12 deaths.
Nine of the victims could be identified on Sunday, including two children aged three and eight, the head of the local relief agency, Abdul Malik, said in a statement.
“We will continue the search in both districts,” he said.
Local rescuers, police, soldiers and volunteers are participating in the search efforts, said spokesperson Ilham Wahab.
The local government has opened evacuation centers and emergency response stations in several areas of the two districts.
Rescuers travel in rubber boats to search for missing people and transfer residents to areas spared by water.
Landslides and floods are common in Indonesia during the rainy season.
In March, at least 26 people were found dead after landslides and flooding in West Sumatra island.