Antara, Jakarta – A number of villages in the Lumajang Regency, East Java, were been inundated by cold lava floods from Mount Semeru on Sunday evening which destroyed the emergency bridges connecting villages.

The Lumajang Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD Lumajang) head of rehabilitation and reconstruction Joko Sambang said the lava stream was visible entering the Gondoruso Village at noon, Antaranews reported.

"The cold lava stream brought with it mud and rocks," said Sambang on January 2. "The cold lava flood following the eruption of Mount Semeru is caused by the high rain intensity in the region."

According to a report from the Semeru observatory post, the flood was detected by the seismograph from 10:48 Western Indonesia Time (WIB) and lasted until 16:02.

The cold lava flood destroyed a number of infrastructures that connected villages, inundated heavy machinery that were mobilized for the post-eruption evacuations. Fortunately, its operators were able to evacuate themselves before the flood struck.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1545867/cold-lava-floods-e-java-villages-post-mount-semeru-eruptio