Improving weather on Monday allowed rescue teams to continue searching for victims after an eruption on Indonesia's most populous island, triggered by torrential rains.
Mount Semeru in East Java's Lumazang province spewed ash about 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) into the sky on Sunday.
The surrounding village and town were covered in ash, but no damage was done.
Hundreds of rescue workers were deployed to the worst-hit villages of Sombaruluh and Supiturang on Monday, where homes and mosques were buried under volcanic debris.
Heavy rains eroded and eventually collapsed the lava dome at the 12,060-foot (3,676 m) volcano, sending a plume of gas and lava down a nearby river.
Flammable gas gushed from the mountain, destroying entire villages and destroying bridges built after last year's powerful eruption.
Sumeru's last major eruption occurred in December 2021, killing 51 people in a buried village.
Hundreds of others suffered severe burns and the explosion forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people.
The government has evacuated around 2,970 houses from the disaster zone, including Sambaruluh village.
Lumazang district chief Torikul Haque said villagers were still suffering from last year's eruption after hearing the mountain rumble early Sunday morning to "escape the carnage".
"They learned a valuable lesson on how to protect themselves from the threat of an explosion," he said while inspecting the damaged bridge in Qajar Kuning village.
About 2,000 people fled to temporary shelters in schools, but many returned home on Monday to graze their cattle and protect their property.
Hendra Gunavan, head of the Emergency Management Center, said increased activity Sunday afternoon prompted officials to extend the danger zone by five miles (8 kilometers) from the crater and scientists raised the volcano's alert level to the highest level. and geological hazards.
People are advised to stay away from the southeastern sectors of the Besuk Kobokan river, which is the path of the lava flows.
Sumeru, also known as Mahameru, has erupted frequently over the past 200 years, but like most of Indonesia's 129 active volcanoes, thousands of people live on its fertile slopes.
Indonesia, an island nation of more than 270 million people, lies along the Pacific Ocean's "Ring of Fire," a horseshoe-shaped ridge that is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.
