JAKARTA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from cold lava floods in Indonesia's West Sumatra province has risen to 67, with 20 people still missing, the country's top disaster agency official announced on Wednesday, adding that relocation options are being considered.
Suharyanto, head of the National Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency, said that soldiers and policemen had been dispatched to the affected areas to assist in evacuation and the search for the victims.
Heavy machinery equipment had been deployed to the areas to aid in clearing the debris, including waste materials, wood, stones, and mud resulting from the lava floods, he told reporters after a meeting with local residents.
He said that the agency was considering relocation as a solution to prevent a recurrence of the tragic consequences of a similar disaster in the future.
An assessment had been carried out, Suharyanto said, adding that the local administration would allocate land if the relocation were to take place.
The disaster that occurred on Saturday night is a recurrence of a similar natural disaster that occurred about 45 years ago in the same areas, according to experts. ■
