24. Deadly Lahars
In 1586, an eruption emptied Mount Kelut’s crater lake, resulting in devastating lahars, or mud flows. By the time things quieted down, about 10,000 people had been killed. Kelut then behaved itself without major eruptions and significant devastation for over three centuries, during which the volcano’s crater refilled with water and turned into a crater lake.
That period of relative peace ended on May 19th, 1919, when Kelut exploded yet once again, in another devastating eruption. An estimated 38 million cubic meters of boiling water and steam blew up from Kelut’s crater lake, and caused massive flows of hot mud, or lahars. The mud traveled for about 30 miles, destroying about 100 villages in its path. By the time it stopped, an estimated 5100 people had been killed.