Floods and cold lava from Marapi volcano kill 37 people in Indonesia

At least 37 people have been killed by floods and cold lava from a volcano on the island of Sumatra in western Indonesia, UNN reports citing the BBC.

Details

Several hours of heavy rain on Saturday brought streams of ash and rocks from Mount Marapi, the most active volcano in Sumatra.

The cold lava covered two districts, claiming lives and damaging more than 100 houses, mosques and civilian facilities.

Authorities say the death toll could rise, as 18 people are still missing.

The survivors described how they fled when cold lava, a mixture of volcanic material and stones, was approaching their homes in the rain on the slopes of the volcano.

According to the National Search and Rescue Agency, by noon on Sunday, rescuers had recovered 19 bodies in the worst-hit village of Kanduang in Agam district and found nine more bodies in the neighboring district of Tanah Datar.

Addendum

The flooding is the latest in a series of natural disasters caused, at least in part, by human activity, environmental experts said.

"Flash floods and cold lava landslides continue to recur and intensify due to overexploitation of natural resources and haphazard development," said Wengki Purwanto, director of the West Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment.

"As a result, disasters happen every year. Moreover, their frequency is increasing every year. The gaps between one disaster and another are getting smaller and smaller," he said.

Over the past six months, several such disasters have occurred in the area of Mount Marapi.

On December 5 last year, 23 tourists were killed in a volcanic eruption, and in February of this year, heavy rains damaged dozens of houses in Tanah Datar.

Only last month, during the eruption, huge ash clouds up to 2 km high rose into the sky. Flights in the region were suspended, roads were closed, and more than 11,000 people were ordered to evacuate.

Marapi means "Mountain of Fire" in the local Minan language.