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Magelang. Torrents of volcanic mud, or lahar, continued to pound the Central Java district of Magelang on Sunday, killing at least one person, destroying hundreds of homes and cutting off the Magelang-Yogyakarta highway again.

The lahar, washed down by heavy rain from the slopes of Mount Merapi, caused the Putih, Lamat, Blongkeng and Pabelan rivers to burst their banks on Sunday night, forcing local authorities to call a state of emergency.

Heri Prawoto, head of the Magelang Disaster Mitigation Office, said the lahar destroyed bridges over all four rivers, flooded hundreds of homes, farms and roads, and forced the closure of the Tempel Bridge, Magelang’s biggest.

He added that Sumiyati, 65, from Jetis village in Salam subdistrict, was killed after being slammed against a tree by the raging torrent of mud.

“Two elderly men are also reported missing,” Heri said.

He also said the lahar had cut off roads to villages in Salam, Muntilan and Ngluwar subdistricts, leaving thousands of people isolated.

“We’re combing all nine rivers in Magelang, including the four largest that originate on the slopes of Merapi, and we’re evacuating all residents from affected villages,” Heri said.

“We’re now looking after thousands of evacuees.”

He added that the lahar seemed to have altered the path of the rivers heading east, and warned residents further downstream to prepare for the mud heading their way as long as the heavy rains persisted.

“This disaster was worse than the lahar of January 3,” he said. “And what will come could be even worse.”

The lahar has also cut off the Magelang-Yogyakarta highway, just days after the authorities had cleared away mud from last week’s torrent.

The highway was covered in up to 2 meters of mud stretching a kilometer, according to the Central Java Police.

Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Djihartono said the highway would have to be closed for at least a week to clear away the mud.

“Anyone planning to drive to Yogyakarta from Magelang and Semarang should take the alternative route through Purworejo, which is relatively safe from the lahar,” he said.

“We’ll work very hard to get the highway reopened soon.”

Djihartono added the lahar had also damaged four police stations in Magelang.

In last week’s incident, the lahar damaged a police station in Sleman district, Yogyakarta.

Authorities have warned of more lahar to come, as inordinately heavy rains keep the rivers around Merapi swollen.

Tony Agus Wijaya, head of information at the Yogyakarta office of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), predicted the amount of rain this year would be 15 percent higher than average because of the La Nina phenomenon.

Tony said total rainfall in the area this month is expected to top 500 millimeters, from the usual 430 mm in previous years.

It would then drop down to 400 mm in February and 300 mm in March, he added.

Sri Sumarti, the Merapi section head at the Volcano Investigation and Technology Development Institution (BPPTK), said that with more lahar very likely to be washed down in the next few weeks, her office would continue to monitor upstream sections of the river to provide early warnings of mud torrents.