Poor weather hinders search and rescue at Indonesian volcano

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Dec 6, 2021: Search and rescue efforts have been suspended due to bad weather following the eruption of Indonesia’s Semeru volcano, as mountain surveillance officials have called for caution following the deadly eruption over the weekend.

Semeru, east of the island of Java, sent high columns of ash and smoke into the air on Sunday, plunging a nearby village into darkness and killing 14 people. Dozens more were injured.

Officials from Indonesia’s Disaster Agency surveyed the affected area by helicopter on Monday morning, sharing images on Twitter showing green fields once covered in ash. Ground military officers, police and residents tried to evacuate the victims with their own hands. The head of the Semeru Volcano Observatory, who, like many Indonesians, goes by only one name Laswanto, warns people to keep a safe distance from the mountain, amid reports that concerned residents had returned to check on their household goods and livestock.

More than 50 people had suffered injuries from the eruption, mostly burns. Lava flows also destroyed a bridge connecting two areas in the nearby district of Lumajang with the city of Malang.

In the Sumberwuluh area, where two trucks lay half-buried by volcanic ash, recovery efforts came to an abrupt halt because of strong winds, a witness said, according to the Reuters news agency.

Dewa Arya of the Search and Rescue Agency said on Monday that his team was working to evacuate the family of five but their efforts were temporarily thwarted due to bad weather. More than 1,000 people have taken refuge in evacuation centers.

Hundreds of relief packages, including rice, blankets and clothing and other basic necessities have been sent to the area, according to media outlet CNN Indonesia, and a trauma team has been set up to work with children affected by the blast.

Semeru is one of the more than 100 active volcanoes in Indonesia, located on the “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific Ocean, where several tectonic plates combine to form a region of intense seismic activity.

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