Cold Lava Floods Sweep Mount Merapi, Killing 3 Sand Miners

7 hours ago 3

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Torrential downpour on the Mount Merapi summit on Tuesday afternoon, March 3, 2026, triggered cold lava floods, resulting in the deaths of three sand miners and injuring six others, with two people still missing as of Wednesday afternoon.

The head of the Research and Development Center for Geological Disaster Technology (BPPTKG), Agus Budi Santoso, revealed that the rain lasted about four hours in the afternoon, pouring down about 144 millimeters of rain, categorized as very heavy. Locally, rain with such intensity exceeded the safe threshold for the risk of cold lava floods.

"The Merapi rain monitoring system automatically sends information on rain events and early warnings of lava and pyroclastic clouds to the surrounding communities and miners starting at 3:15 p.m.," said Agus on Wednesday. The rainfall began to pour at around 3:00 p.m. local time.

At around 4:30 p.m., cold lava floods began to occur in several river channels, namely the Gendol River, Apu River, Trising River, Senowo River, and Pabelan River. These rivers are known as the main paths for the flow of volcanic material when heavy rain falls on the peak area of Mount Merapi located on the borders of Central Java and Yogyakarta.

Based on data from the Magelang Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) as of March 4, 2026, the three deceased victims were Imam Setiawan (21 years old) from Semarang, Fuad Hasan (25 years old) from Magelang, and Heru (24 years old) from Magelang.

In addition to the casualties and injuries, at least 15 trucks were reported to have been swept away by the cold lava floods.

The Geological Agency team through BPPTKG provided technical assistance and coordinated with stakeholders to expedite the search process and impact management. On Wednesday morning, the search was focused on the banks of the Senowo River and Apu River, and two victims were found dead.

Agus urged people living along the river paths originating from Mount Merapi to increase vigilance, especially when moderate to heavy rain occurs in the peak area. Miners and residents are also asked not to engage in activities in the river channels when heavy rain occurs.

Local governments are expected to continue to disseminate the potential dangers of cold lava floods and monitor the conditions of the rivers originating from Mount Merapi. The public is urged to follow official information from the Geological Agency-BPPTKG and comply with the directives of field officers.

Read: Mount Merapi Ejects Pyroclastic Flow Hours After Earthquakes in Yogyakarta

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News

Yogyakarta Braces for Cold Lava Flood Due to Continuous Rain on Top of Merapi

5 Desember 2024