Heavy rain and cold lava cause deadly flash floods

Heavy rain and torrents of cold lava and mud flowing down a volcano’s slopes on Indonesia’s Sumatra island have triggered flash floods that killed at least 37 people and left more than a dozen others missing.

Monsoon rains and a major mudslide from a cold lava flow on Mount Marapi caused a river to breach its banks and tear through mountainside villages in Agam and Tanah Datar districts in West Sumatra province just before midnight on Saturday.

National disaster management Agency spokesman Abdul mu hari said the floods swept away people and sub merged more than 100 houses and buildings.

Cold lava, also known as lahar, is a mixture of volcanic material and pebbles that flow down a volcano' s slopes in the rain.

Yesterday, rescuers recovered 19 bodies in the worsthit village of Canduang and also nine others in the neighbouring village of Sungai Pua, Mr Muhari said.

The agency said that eight bodies were pulled from mud during deadly flash floods that hit Padang Pariaman, and one body was found in the city of Padang Panjang. It said rescuers are searching for 18 people who are reportedly missing.

Flash floods on Saturday night also caused main roads around the Anai Valley Waterfall area in Tanah Datar district to be blocked by mud, cutting off access to other cities, Padang Panjang police chief Kartyana Putra said.

Videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed roads that were transformed into murky brown rivers.

The disaster came just two months after heavy rains triggered flash floods and a landslide in West Sumatra's Pesisir Selatan and Padang Pariaman districts, killing at 21 and leaving five missing.

Mount mar a pi erupted late last year killing 23 climbers who were caught by a surprise weekend eruption.