JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo promised on Tuesday to bolster evacuation efforts and repair damaged homes after visiting the site of a volcanic eruption on Java that has killed at least 34 people.
The 3,676-metre Mt Semeru volcano erupted on Saturday sending a cloud of ash into the sky and dangerous pyroclastic flows into villages below. Thousands of people have been displaced and 17 remain missing, according to the disaster mitigation agency.
After visiting evacuation centres and surveying the area by helicopter, getting an aerial view of villages submerged in molten ash, the president said recovery efforts would be bolstered now and in the months ahead.
"I came to the site to ensure that we have the forces to locate the victims," said the president, speaking from Sumberwuluh, one of the worst-hit areas. "We hope that after everything has subsided, that everything can start - fixing infrastructure or even relocating those from the places we predict are too dangerous to return to."
At least 2,000 homes would need to be relocated to safer areas, he said.
Search and rescue efforts continued on Tuesday but have been hampered by wind and rain, and limited equipment in some areas.
Mt Semeru erupted three times on Tuesday. Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation said on Monday there was potential for further flows of hot gas, ash and rocks.
Mt Semeru is one of more than 100 active volcanoes in Indonesia, in an area of high seismic activity atop multiple tectonic plates known as the "Pacific Ring of Fire".
Reports said most of the victims died after being hit by searing volcanic debris during Saturday's eruption, with many burned beyond recognition,officials said. More bodies were found on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 34, with 16 listed as missing, said I Wayan Suyatna, head of preparedness at the search and rescue agency in East Java.
The eruption sent villagers in Lumajang district fleeing their homes in terror as a huge column of smoke rose into the sky and searing molten rocks and gas barrelled down the slopes.
At least 68 people suffered burns caused by hot volcanic materials,local officials said. Television footage showed ash from the volcano burying homes, with only their roofs remaining visible.
Nearly 2,000 people have been displaced by the disaster. They received temporary shelter in mosques and government offices, among other locations, the agency said.
"This morning I came to the location to ensure that we do everything possible to find those still missing," Joko said.
The nearly 3,700-metre volcano, part of Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, has erupted several times since December last year.
It is the highest mountain on Java island, home to 145 million people. Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area known for seismic upheaval, and has about 128 active volcanoes. - AFP/dpa
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