"Data a of last night, we recorded 37 dead victims…But from this morning it has grown again, the figure reached 41 (dead)," Ilham Wahab, West Sumatra disaster mitigation agency official told AFP.
17 persons are reported to be still missing, including three in Agam district and 14 in Tanah Data.
Ilham tried to encourage people to move to a safer area or to relatives than tent shelters in heavy rains.
Lahar is the cold lava that is a volcanic residue consisting of ash, sand and pebbles carried down a volcano's slopes by rain.
Evacuation centres and emergency posts have been set up by the local government in several areas of Agam and Tanah Datar.
41 died due to flash floods and cold lava flow from volcanoes in Western Indonesia Photo : ANI
A rise in the number of deaths due to flash floods and cold lava flow from volcanoes was noted in Western Indonesia over the weekend, as total number of casualties reached 41 while 17 others are still missing as of Monday, according to a local disaster agency official, reported AFP.
Two districts of Sumatra island had to experience large volcanic rocks rolling down after hours of heavy rainfall into one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes on Saturday evening. The resulting flood inundated roads, homes and mosques in the region.
"Data a of last night, we recorded 37 dead victims…But from this morning it has grown again, the figure reached 41 (dead)," Ilham Wahab, West Sumatra disaster mitigation agency official told AFP.
17 persons are reported to be still missing, including three in Agam district and 14 in Tanah Data. Rescuers are still on the search for these people as this region is one of the worst affected areas and is home to hundreds of thousands of people.
According to Abdul Malik, head of search and rescue agency in the provincial capital Pandang, two bodies of children along with many others were retrieved on Sunday, the report added.
Ilham tried to encourage people to move to a safer area or to relatives than tent shelters in heavy rains.
"We are focused on first, searching and rescuing the victims, second, protecting the evacuees, protecting the vulnerable people," he said.
130 people were evacuated to an elementary school in Agam, while more than 2,000 people were rescued to several places in Tanah Datar, according to West Sumatra Governor Mahyeldi Ansharullah's statement on Monday.
Heavy rains flooded the neighbourhoods with muddy flood waters sweeping vehicles into a nearby river, while volcanic ash and large rocks rumbled down Mount Merapi.
Lahar is the cold lava that is a volcanic residue consisting of ash, sand and pebbles carried down a volcano's slopes by rain.
To rescue the missing victims the authorities have sent a team of rescuers and rubber boats. Evacuation centres and emergency posts have been set up by the local government in several areas of Agam and Tanah Datar.
According to data collected by the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, or BNPB, 84 homes, 16 bridges, and two mosques were damaged in Tanah Datar along with 20 hectares of rice fields.
