Flash floods and cold lava flow hit Indonesia’s Sumatra island, killing at least 15 people

PADANG, Indonesia (AP) — Heavy rains and torrents of cold lava and mud flowing down a volcano’s slopes on Indonesia’s Sumatra island have triggered flash floods that killed at least 15 people and injured several others. Monsoon rains and a major mudslide from a cold lava flow on Mount Marapi caused a river to breach its banks and tear through mountainside villages in Agam and Tanah Datar districts in West Sumatra province just before midnight on Saturday. The floods swept away people and submerged more than 100 houses and buildings. Cold lava, also known as lahar, is a mixture of volcanic material and pebbles that flow down a volcano’s slopes in the rain.