Heavy rains in Indonesia over the weekend triggered flash floods and sent torrents of cold lava tumbling down a volcano and spilling into towns, killing at least 37 people, officials said.
Hours of rain Saturday evening washed volcanic rocks and ash onto Mount Marapi, an active volcano on the island of Sumatra. These mudflows are known as lahars in Indonesian, which translates to cold lava.
The rain also caused a nearby river to overflow.
Four areas in West Sumatra were seriously affected, according to Indonesia’s disaster agency. Nearly 200 homes flooded and 159 people evacuated, agency says said. Some floods left mud deposits high enough to reach an adult’s calves. said.
As of Sunday evening, 37 residents had been killed and 17 others were missing, the agency said.
