Mud Hambut Basarnas Team Searches 11 Victims Of Cold Lava Floods In West Sumatra

Lumpur pasca banjir lahar di Kabupaten Agam, Sumbar (dok BNPB)

The Basarnas team has resumed the search for 11 missing victims in the cold lava flash flood disaster in Agam and Tanah Datar Regencies, West Sumatra (West Sumatra). Mud is an obstacle for the joint SAR team in the search for missing victims.

In addition, it often rains and the large amount of material left over from the flood is an obstacle to search operations.

As previously reported, flash floods and landslides hit a number of areas in West Sumatra after heavy rains on Saturday and Sunday (11-12/5/2024). The affected areas include Agam Regency, Tanah Datar Regency, Padang Pariaman Regency, Padang Panjang City, and Padang City.

The worst flash floods occurred in Agam and Tanah Datar, Saturday night. Flash floods in the two districts were triggered by rain lava from the eruption material of Mount Marapi.

The Deputy for SAR Operations and Preparedness of Basarnas, Komaeny, Sunday, May 19, said that his party had deployed several sectors of the joint SAR team to look for victims who had not been found.

Two sectors were lowered in Agam and four sectors in Tanah Datar. One sector was also lowered in the watershed, Batang Anai, Padang Pariaman plus one sector for search in Sijunjung Regency," said Komaeny.

The joint team also lowered the thermal drone cameras to determine the location of the search. The goal is for the search team in the field to be safe in searching for victims.

"Now we are searching for 11 people with Padangganang, Parambahan search points, 5 Kaum, Panti Jao, Tanjung Ameh, Lembah Anai, Sijunjung, Batang Anai River, Pandai Sikek, and Pua Agam River," he said.

Data from the Padang SAR office stated that the number of victims who died as a result of the disaster in West Sumatra as of Saturday (18/5/2024) night was 61 people.

"Temporary data, there are 11 victims who are still being sought (most of them are in Tanah Datar). So far, the obstacles in the field, the weather during the search often rains. Also the high amount of mud and material carried by flash floods," said Komany.