Rescuers in Indonesia scrambled to locate survivors in towns buried by molten ash on Sunday, following the eruption of Mount Semeru, which claimed the lives of at least 14 people and injured dozens more. The eruption of Mount Merapi, the largest mountain on the island of Java, took people completely by surprise on Saturday, driving thousands to escape and forcing hundreds of families to take refuge in temporary camps. At least 11 villages in the Lumajang region of East Java were blanketed in volcanic ash, sinking houses and vehicles and smothering cattle, resulting in at least 1,300 refugees seeking shelter in mosques, schools, and village halls, according to authorities.
“We had no idea it was hot mud,” said Bunadi, a resident of Kampung Renteng, a village of approximately 3,000 people. “We had no idea it was hot mud,” she added. In an instant, the sky went dark as rain and hot smoke poured down from above. Screaming residents of a nearby village were seen fleeing from Semeru as the volcano sent up an ash mushroom into the sky, which was captured on video in a dramatic sequence.
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According to health officials, at least 56 people were hurt in the eruption, including two pregnant women, with the majority of them suffering severe burns. Pratikno, state secretary under President Joko Widodo, said that as the magnitude of the disaster became obvious, the president ordered a rapid emergency response to locate victims on Sunday. Rain is anticipated in the next three days, according to the country’s geological service, which could make rescue efforts even more difficult. According to Surono, the country’s top volcanologist, there is also a chance that the rain will cause ash sediment to form a new river of molten lava, as reported by the TV station.
According to Adi Hendro, a spokeswoman for the Lumajang Public Order Agency, many of those who suffered burns mistook the hot mudflow for floods and remained in their communities as a result. “They didn’t have enough time to get out,” he explained. At least one bridge in Lumajang has been destroyed by lava mixed with debris and strong rain, making it impossible for rescuers to reach the region. It was claimed that ash emitted by the volcano traveled up to four kilometers distant, reaching as far as the Indian Ocean in Java’s southernmost region, according to Indonesia’s geological agency.
