Mount Semeru: Indonesian rescuers face burning ash amid race to save villagers
- At least 34 died after being hit by searing volcanic debris, and more bodies are being found, while survivors are burned beyond recognition
- Indonesian President Joko Widodo vows to rebuild as volcano death toll rises and more than 2,000 villagers are left displaced and homeless
Relief workers are struggling to clear tons of volcanic debris following the eruption of Mount Semeru in Indonesia’s East Java province on Saturday.
On Tuesday they focused on three locations in the worst-hit village of Sumberwuluh, where people are still believed to be trapped in houses that were buried to their rooftops. Their efforts are being hampered by the intense heat.
“The volcanic ash deposits are still at high temperatures, and the deeper we dig the hotter it gets,” said Wayan Suyatna, head of preparedness at the search and rescue agency in East Java.
At least 34 people have been confirmed dead and dozens are still missing after the volcano erupted in the East Java province erupted at the weekend, the country’s search and rescue agency said on Tuesday.
Clouds of hot ash shot high into the sky and an avalanche of lava and searing gas swept as far as 11 kilometres (7 miles) down Mount Semeru’s slopes in a sudden eruption on Saturday triggered by heavy rain.
It sent villagers in Lumajang district fleeing their homes in terror. Villages and towns were blanketed by tons of volcanic debris.
Television footage showed ash from the volcano burying homes, with only their roofs remaining visible.
Most of the victims died after being hit by searing volcanic debris, with many burned beyond recognition, officials said. More bodies were found on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 34, said Wayan Suyatna. At least 68 people suffered burns caused by hot volcanic materials, local officials said.
National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said 56 people were hospitalised after the eruption, mostly with burns. He said rescuers were still searching for 27 villagers reported missing. Nearly 3,000 houses and 38 schools were damaged, he said.
The number of dead and missing is expected to rise as much of the search area is mountainous and “geographically difficult,” said Andris Rufianto Putro, a field coordinator for Semeru emergency response at Indonesian Red Cross.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited areas devastated by the powerful volcano on Tuesday and vowed that communities would be quickly rebuilt. After visiting survivors in shelters on a soccer field, he pledged to rebuild infrastructure, including the main bridge connecting Lumajang to other cities, and move more than 2,000 houses out of danger zones.
“We need to decide where they are going to be relocated and build new homes for them immediately,” he said and vowed officials would “do everything possible to find those still missing”.
Authorities said the displaced are currently in temporary shelter in mosques and government offices, among other locations. Residents of the hardest-hit villages will be relocated within the next six months, and each family waiting for a new house will be provided 500,000 rupiah (US$34.50) per month in compensation, they said.
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Cargo planes carrying food, tents, blankets and other supplies landed on Tuesday for distribution in temporary shelters.
The eruption of the 3,676m (12,060ft) mountain eased pressure that had been building under a lava dome in its crater. But experts warned that the dome could further collapse, causing an avalanche of blistering gas and debris trapped beneath it.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 270 million people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a horseshoe-shaped series of fault lines.
Semeru, also known as Mahameru, is the highest mountain on Java Island, home to 145 million people. Tens of thousands of people live on Semeru’s fertile slopes. It has erupted many times in the last 200 years, including once in January, with no casualties.
