The death toll from the recent eruption of Mount Semeru in Lumajang, East Java, has risen to 14 after the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) discovered an additional body on Sunday.
he death toll from the recent eruption of Mount Semeru has risen to 14 after the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) discovered an additional body in Lumajang, East Java on Sunday.
Mt. Semeru, Java’s tallest mountain, spewed a large cloud of rock and ash into the sky on Saturday as an accompanying pyroclastic flow rushed down its slopes. Two districts in Lumajang regency were covered with pyroclastic materials, and eight districts in the neighboring Malang regency were covered with ash.
Some 5,500 people were affected by the disaster, according to the BNPB.
Three more pyroclastic flows occurred on Sunday, with the third taking place at 10 a.m. at a much smaller scale than the previous ones.
The BNPB has identified nine of the known victims. The five others are being held in Bhayangkara Hospital in Lumajang, and the causes of death remain unclear.
At least 35 people were seriously injured in the disaster, mostly suffering from burns. Two local hospitals and a handful of community health centers (Puskesmas) are treating the wounded.
The BNPB evacuated some 1,300 people from the affected areas. Nine others are known to be missing. At the time of writing, most of the evacuees were taking shelter in village centers in Candipuro, one of the two affected districts in Lumajang.
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