At least 13 people died and thousands were displaced after Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupted on Saturday, catching locals on the island of Java by surprise.
According to a statement from the country’s National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB), the eruption also wounded 98 people.
Hundreds of people were forced into makeshift shelters as the eruption submerged large parts of Java island in volcanic ash.
Footage shared online showed the volcano pumping a mushroom cloud of ash into the sky, sending thousands of residents fleeing.
President Joko Widodo on Sunday ordered a rapid emergency response to find victims after the scale of the disaster became clear, said state secretary Pratikno, reported by AFP.
But rescues efforts continue to struggle with hot ash and debris, forcing evacuations into a temporary suspension on Sunday due to hot ash clouds, Indonesia’s Metro TV reported, highlighting the difficulty of the rescue operation.
Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area with high volcanic and seismic activity due to the meeting of continental plates.
In 2018, an eruption in the strait between Java and Sumatra islands caused an underwater landslide and tsunami killing more than 400 people.
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