What Is Cold Lava Which Has Caused Havoc In Indonesia?

What is Cold Lava?

Like a deadly river of wet concrete, cold lava, or “lahar,” rushed down from Mount Marapi, in Indonesia destroying everything in its path. According to the USGS, frozen lava has the potential to be much more deadly than molten lava since it will bury and smash everything in its path with unrelenting fury.

Cold lava is a combination of volcanic material, debris, and water that moves more quickly than molten lava rivers that erupt during volcanic eruptions. This phenomena happens when water on a volcano’s slopes combines with debris and volcanic ash to form a dense mixture that rushes downhill at an unexpectedly high rate of speed and destructive force.

The phrase “cold lava” implies anything that has cooled down, much like solidified lava, which is a bit deceptive. Although cold lava seems and behaves more like wet concrete on the outside, it is actually still hot inside because of chemical reactions occurring within the volcanic material.

Due to gravity and the sheer amount of material displaced after an eruption or intense downpour, this streaming mass can travel a great distance from the volcano’s summit.

The capacity of cool lava to accumulate more silt and debris as it moves downward is one of its distinguishing features. This mixture has the ability to quickly grow both in volume and destructive capacity, changing from a relatively harmless flow into a strong force that may destroy everything in its path.

Cold lava is especially threatening to neighboring people because of its unpredictable nature and quick pace, which can quickly overrun infrastructure and settlements.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has conducted studies that demonstrate the special risks that cold lava poses. Cold lava can advance quickly, burying or crushing anything in its path, in contrast to regular lava flows that travel slowly and give occupants time to flee.

It poses a major risk to human life and property due to its high density and abrasive nature, which can seriously damage roads, bridges, and buildings.

With so many active volcanoes, Indonesia has seen firsthand the devastation that cool lava may do. Rising to a height of 9,485 feet above sea level, Mount Marapi has raised concerns because of its regular eruptions and related lahars.

This most recent disaster comes after the ash-filled skies caused by Mount Marapi’s eruption in December 2023, which acted as an ominous prelude to the present devastation. Search and rescue efforts are underway to find survivors among the rubble.

Conditions In Indonesia:

On the Indonesian island of Sumatra in the west, a rescue mission is in progress.

It comes after hours of intense rain forced floods, mudslides, and chilled lava to slide down Mount Marapi, the most active volcano in Sumatra, destroying more than 100 homes and businesses.

Marapi is called “Mountain of Fire” in the indigenous Minang language.

This is the most recent natural disaster to strike the island in the previous half-year.

The big mudslide was triggered by heavy rain during the monsoon season, which caused a river to overflow its bank and affected four districts near the slope.

More than 40 persons are missing and over 40 have perished.

Wengki Purwanto, director of the Indonesian Forum for Environment branch in West Sumatra, stated that it is one of several natural disasters.

“Overuse of natural resources and careless development are to blame for the frequency and intensity of flash floods and cold lava mudslides.

As a result, tragedies happen again every year. In actuality, their frequency rises yearly.”

Ilham Wahab, an official with the West Sumatra disaster mitigation agency, told AFP that three persons are missing in the Agam district and fourteen in Tanah Datar, both of which are the worst-hit areas of the flood and are home to hundreds of thousands of people.

At least eight excavators and drones have been used in the approximately 400-person search for the missing, along with members of the local rescue teams, police, and military.