Flash floods and cold lava flow hit Indonesia's Sumatra island, killing at least 15 people
Padang (AP): Heavy rains and torrents of cold lava and mud flowing down a volcano's slopes on Indonesia's Sumatra island triggered flash floods that killed at least 15 people and injured several others, officials said Sunday.
Monsoon rains and a major mudslide from a cold lava flow on Mount Marapi caused a river to breach its banks and tear through mountainside villages in Agam and Tanah Datar districts in West Sumatra province just before midnight on Saturday. The floods swept away people and submerged more than 100 houses and buildings, National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said.
Cold lava, also known as lahar, is a mixture of volcanic material and pebbles that flow down a volcano's slopes in the rain.
By Sunday, rescuers had pulled out 11 bodies in the worst-hit village of Canduang and recovered four other bodies in the neighbouring village of Sungai Pua, Muhari said.
The agency said in a statement that at least seven villagers were injured by the flash floods, and rescuers were searching for other possible victims. It said 60 people had fled to temporary government shelters.
The disaster came just two months after heavy rains triggered flash floods and a landslide in West Sumatra's Pesisir Selatan and Padang Pariaman districts, killing at least 21 people and leaving five others missing.
The 2,885-metre (9,465-foot) Mount Marapi erupted late last year killing 23 climbers who were caught by a surprise weekend eruption. The volcano has stayed at the third highest of four alert levels since 2011, indicating above-normal volcanic activity under which climbers and villagers must stay more than three kilometres (1.8 miles) from the peak, according to Indonesia's Centre for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation.
Marapi is known for sudden eruptions that are difficult to predict because the source is shallow and near the peak, and its eruptions are not caused by a deep movement of magma, which sets off tremors that register on seismic monitors.
Marapi has been active since an eruption in January 2023 that caused no casualties. It is among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
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Calf named 'Deepjyoti' -- new resident at PM Modi's 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence has a new resident -- a calf named 'Deepjyoti'.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Modi informed that 'Gau Mata (cow)' has given birth to a calf at the PM's 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence premises.
A new member at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg!
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 14, 2024
Deepjyoti is truly adorable. pic.twitter.com/vBqPYCbbw4
He also shared a video of himself spending time with the calf at his residence.
"It is said in our scriptures - 'Gaavh Sarvasukh Pradaah'. A new member has auspiciously arrived at the Prime Minister's residence premises at Lok Kalyan Marg." "At the Prime Minister's residence, the beloved mother cow has given birth to a new calf, on whose forehead there is a mark of light. Hence, I have named it 'Deepjyoti'," Modi said in a post in Hindi on X.
"A new member at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg! Deepjyoti is truly adorable," he said in another post.
The prime minister also shared photographs in which he is spending time with the calf at his residence.
In the video montage put out on his X handle, the prime minister is seen carrying the calf at his residence, sitting with it at his temple in the house and taking it out to the garden.
