Tsunami hits Indonesia, 43 people killed
A tsunami triggered by a volcano hit beaches around the Sunda Strait in Indonesia on the evening of December 22, destroying hundreds of homes.
430 houses, nine hotels and 10 ships were destroyed after waves hit beaches around the Sunda Strait, in South Sumatra and the western tip of Java island at 9:30 p.m. on December 22.
A tsunami warning was issued, and people in low-lying areas were evacuated to higher ground. Tsunami waves of about 0.9 m in height hit Serang area, while wave heights in other areas such as Pandeglang and South Lampung were 0.28-0.36 m.
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| Location of the Sunda Strait. Graphics:Google Maps |
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for Indonesia's Disaster Mitigation Agency, said 43 people were killed, 584 were injured and two were missing. "We are summarizing reports of tsunami impacts in the Sunda Strait, especially Serang, Pandeglang and South Lampung," he said.
"I had to run, the waves came 15-20m inland. The next wave also came into the hotel area where I was staying and flooded cars on the road behind," witness Lund Andersen wrote on Facebook. "I evacuated my family to higher ground through forest paths and villages, where we were helped by local people. We were unharmed, thankfully!"
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| The scene of devastation after the tsunami. Photo:Twitter |
Indonesia's geophysics agency said the Anak Krakatau volcano erupted about 24 minutes before the tsunami struck. Anak Krakatau is a young volcano that formed within the Krakatau volcano off the Sunda Strait, after a violent eruption in 1883 that killed 36,000 people.
The 305-meter-high mountain, about 200 kilometers southwest of the capital Jakarta, has been erupting since June. On December 21, Anak Krakatau erupted for more than two minutes, creating an ash cloud more than 400 meters high.
Endan Permana, head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency in Pandeglang, said police were assisting victims in Tanjung Lesung in Banten province, a popular tourist spot not far from Jakarta, as emergency responders had not yet arrived in the area.
Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates collide, making it one of the world's most active countries in terms of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. In September, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake off Sulawesi triggered a tsunami that killed 2,000 people and left more than 5,000 missing.
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| Krakatoa volcano erupted in July. Photo:AFP. |
