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Three dead, hundreds displaced in East Java landslides
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Workers clear rubble on July 8, 2023, to reopen a road connecting Lumajang and Malang in East Java that had been cut off by landslides. (Courtesy of/Lumajang Disaster Mitigation Agency)
H
eavy rainfall in Lumajang regency, East Java, has triggered landslides and mudflows of volcanic material, known as lahar, from the nearby Mount Semeru, cutting off several bridges, killing three people and displacing nearly 600 residents.
Hours of heavy downpours resulted in landslides on Thursday night in Sumber Wuluh village, Candipuro district, Lumajang. Three meters of mud and dislodged vegetation covered a key stretch of road in the district.
Hours later, landslides swept through the neighboring Pronojiwo district, killing a family of three, consisting of a husband, wife and their 4-month-old son.
At around 10 a.m., three rivers in Lumajang – the Besuk Bang, Besuk Sang and Besuk Kobokan – breached their banks. All three run from Mount Semeru, an active volcano, and overflowed with lahar.
This destroyed a further six bridges in the regency, including the Kaliglidik bridge, which connects Lumajang to neighboring Malang regency. It also left the districts of Pronojiwo and Tempursari temporarily cut off from aid.
Although lahars typically occur during volcanic eruptions, they can also be triggered by the erosion of volcanic ash deposits during heavy rains.
