He said the search effort involved local rescuers, police, soldiers and volunteers.
Agam and Tanah Datar districts were hit with flash floods and cold lava flow at around 10.30 pm on Saturday, according to Basarnas search and rescue agency.
Cold lava, also known as lahar, is volcanic material like ash, sand and pebbles carried down a volcano’s slopes by rain.
Earlier, Basarnas said 12 people had died including several children.
Ilham said Sunday that authorities were still receiving reports of missing people from relatives.
He said he could not give a figure of the number of people evacuated from the area as the search and rescue effort was still focused on the victims and the missing.
MOSQUES, HOUSES DAMAGED
In the Tanah Datar district, several mosques and a public pool were damaged in the area with large rocks and logs scattered on the ground, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
In Lembah Anai, a popular tourist spot with a waterfall in Tanah Datar, a road connecting the cities of Padang and Bukittinggi was severely damaged and access for cars was cut off.
At a nearby river, two trucks had been swept away by the flooding and strong river currents, the journalist said.
In Agam, dozens of homes and public facilities were damaged, the district’s disaster agency chief Budi Perwira Negara told AFP.
