Floods kill 37 in Indonesia’s West Sumatra

In December, more than 20 people were killed after Marapi erupted. A series of eruptions has followed since.

“The heavy rain swept materials such as ash and large rocks from the Marapi volcano,” Abdul Malik said.

“Cold lava flow and flash floods have always been threats to us recently. But the problem is, it always happens late at night until dawn,” he added.

Abdul said around 400 personnel, including rescuers, police and military, had been deployed to search for the missing people on Monday, helped by at least eight excavators and drones.

The national disaster and management agency BNPB said in a statement that almost 200 houses were damaged and 178 acres of land, including rice fields, were affected. At least 159 people from Agam district have been evacuated to nearby schools.