Torrential downpours sparked massive floods and landslides on Sunday, with thousands of homes submerged in the two countries of Southeast Asia. Disaster officials warn that the threat isn't over yet.
Multiple disasters caused by torrential rains in eastern Indonesia have left dozens of people deadImage: AP Photo/picture alliance
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Scores of people have been killed in Indonesia and neighboring East Timor after Cyclone Seroja battered the region over the weekend, officials said on Tuesday.
At least 120 people are confirmed dead so far. Indonesia's disaster agency revised down its total death toll to 86 from a previous 130, citing miscommunication with local agencies, according to news agency AFP. In East Timor, another 34 have been officially listed dead.
The death toll could rise further, with the Indonesian disaster management agency reporting that more than 100 people are still missing.
Rescuers are having a hard time searching for survivors in hard-hit areas due to electricity outages and roads being blocked by debris.
More than 8,000 people in Indonesia have been displaced by the extreme weather, with many fleeing to emergency shelters.
While meteorologists expect the cyclone to move southwest away from Indonesia later on Tuesday, officials fear more damage could come.
"We could still see extreme weather [from the cyclone] for the next few days," said Indonesia's national disaster agency spokesman Raditya Jati.
COVID-19 complicating relief efforts
Already struggling to accommodate thousands of evacuees, local authorities are also concerned about curbing spread of the coronavirus.
"These evacuees fled here with just wet clothes on their backs and nothing else," said the deputy mayor of Lembata Island, Thomas Ola Longaday.
The European Union said it was ready to aid poverty-stricken East Timor, officially known as Timor-Leste.
"The catastrophic floods come at a time when Timor-Leste is working hard to contain the spread of COVID-19 among its population, putting a considerable additional strain both on resources and on the Timorese people," the EU said.
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Disaster-prone area
Indonesia and East Timor frequently experience natural disasters. Indonesia is the largest island nation in the world; its rugged terrain complicates reaching people in need after storms and heavy swells.
Large parts of the region have also been subject to deforestation, eliminating a major natural barrier against floods.
With its approximately 130 active volcanoes, Indonesia is also located onthe Pacific Ring of Fire, the most geologically active zone on earth.
mna/rs (dpa, AFP)
In pictures: Bali's Mount Agung erupts
A volcano on the Indonesian island of Bali has erupted, sending plumes of ash thousands of meters into the sky. Authorities have upgraded flight warnings and ordered people still in the exclusion zone to leave.
Image: Reuters/Antara Foto/N. Budhiana
Ash cloud
Mount Agung in Bali's northeast erupted several times over the weekend, coating nearby resorts and villages in a thin layer of ash. Dark gray clouds spewing from the peak could be seen moving away from the capital, Denpasar, and toward the neighboring island of Lombok.
Image: Reuters
Lava's reflection
As night fell, a deep orange glow from the crater lit up part of an ash cloud that reached up to 6,000 meters (19,685 feet) into the sky. Mount Agung started showing signs of activity in September, prompting authorities to raise the volcano's emergency status to the highest level and evacuate 140,000 people living nearby. The alert was later downgraded on October 29 after a decrease in activity.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Lisnawati/AP
Ash-covered paradise
Bali's surf beaches, temples and lush forests attract about 5 million visitors each year, making the island Indonesia's top tourist destination. But Made Sugiri, from the Mahagiri Panoramic Resort, says tourist numbers have been down in recent months. "We are out of the danger zone, but like other resorts in the region, of course the eruptions cause a decrease in the number of visitors," he said.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Jilin
'Still safe'
Indonesia's disaster agency says Bali is "still safe" for tourists, noting in a statement that the emergency status for Agung remained at level 3, one below the highest, over the weekend. Despite a number of eruptions, it said volcanic activity remained relatively stable.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Tumbelaka
Flight warning upgraded
It was a different story for the aviation alert status, however, which was lifted on Sunday from orange to red — its highest level. Although many flights went ahead as planned, hundreds of people were stranded by cancellations. Lombok's airport had to be shut down, but officials said Bali's main airport would remain open for as long as it was still possible for planes to skirt the ash cloud.
Image: REUTERS
Exclusion zone
About 25,000 people fled their homes during the latest eruptions. Authorities have warned anyone still inside a 7.5-kilometer (4.5-mile) exclusion zone around the crater to leave. Mount Agung is one of more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia. Its last major eruption in 1963 killed more than a thousand people.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Lisnawati/AP
Magma and ash
Volcanologists described the renewed activity on Saturday as a phreatic eruption, with the expulsion of smoke caused by the heating and expansion of groundwater. On Sunday, officials said things may have progressed to a magmatic eruption, which results in the spewing of ash.
Safety measures
"Mount Agung ... is still spewing ash at the moment, but we need to monitor and be cautious over the possibility of a strong, explosive eruption," Indonesian government volcanologist Gede Suantika said. Soldiers and police are distributing masks to people in nearby villages and resorts to protect them from ash.
