More Than 200 Dead, Hundreds More Injured After Tsunami Hits Indonesia

At least 222 people are dead and hundreds more are missing or injured, the AP reports, after a tsunami struck Indonesia late Saturday night local time.

The death toll is expected to rise.

Officials there are blaming the tsunami on underwater landslides caused by volcanic activity on the island of Anak Krakatau, which erupted just after 9 p.m.

Footage shared by news outlets and social media show a wave hitting a seaside concert at a resort on the island of Java, washing away the stage and many people along with it.

The 1883 eruption of nearby Krakatoa killed more than 30,000 people. Anak Krakatau, the "son of Krakatoa," emerged from the spot where the island of Rakata existed before that eruption.

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which was triggered by an earthquake, killed about 226,000. </s> A tsunami apparently caused by the eruption of an island volcano killed at least 62 people around Indonesia’s Sunda Strait, sending a wall of water crashing some 65 feet inland and sweeping away hundreds of houses including hotels, the government and witnesses said.

JAKARTA, Indonesia — A tsunami apparently caused by the eruption of an island volcano killed at least 62 people around Indonesia’s Sunda Strait, sending a wall of water crashing some 65 feet inland and sweeping away hundreds of houses including hotels, the government and witnesses said.

Some 600 people have been reported injured when the tsunami hit 9:27 p.m. Saturday, the Disaster Management Agency said.

Scientists from Indonesia’s Meteorology and Geophysics agency said it could have been caused by undersea landslides from the eruption of Anak Krakatau, a volcanic island formed over years from the nearby Krakatau volcano. They also cited tidal waves caused by the full moon.

“I had to run, as the wave passed the beach and landed 15-20m inland,” Norwegian Øystein Lund Andersen wrote on Facebook. He said he was taking pictures of the volcano when he suddenly saw a big wave come toward him.

“Next wave entered the hotel area where I was staying and downed cars on the road behind it. Managed to evacuate with my family to higher ground trough forest paths and villages, where we are taken care of (by) the locals. Were unharmed, thankfully.”

Looking for the missing

The worst affected area was the Pandeglang region of Banten province in Java, which encompasses the Ujung Kulon National Park and popular beaches, the disaster agency said. Of the deaths, 33 were in Pandeglang.

In the city of Bandar Lampung on southern Sumatra, hundreds of residents took refuge at the governor’s office.

Alif, a resident in Pandeglang district who goes by one name, said told MetroTV station that many people were still searching for missing relatives.

The Anak Krakatau volcano in the Sunda Strait that links the Indian Ocean and Java Sea erupted about 24 minutes before the tsunami, the geophysics agency said.

The 1,000-foot-high volcano, about 124 miles southwest of capital Jakarta, has been erupting since June. In July, authorities widened its no-go areas to 1.24 miles from the crater.

Gegar Prasetya, co-founder of the Tsunami Research Center Indonesia, said the waves were likely caused by a flank collapse — when a big section of a volcano’s slope gives way. He said it’s possible for an eruption to trigger a landslide above ground or beneath the ocean, both capable of producing a tsunami.

“Actually, the tsunami was not really big, only one meter,” said Prasetya, who has closely studied Krakatau. “The problem is people always tend to build everything close to the shoreline.”

Physical losses included 430 heavily damaged homes, nine heavily damaged hotels and 10 heavily damaged vessels. Footage posted by the head of the disaster agency showed the aftermath of flooded streets and an overturned car.

In September, more than 2,500 people were killed by a quake and tsunami that hit the city of Palu on the island of Sulawesi, which is just east of Borneo. </s> Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesperson for the Indonesian disaster agency has confirmed the Saturday evening tsunami has left at least 168 dead, 745 injured with 30 missing. But he says he expects the death toll to rise since not all the areas which were hit have been reached yet.

The worst affected area was the Pandeglang region of Banten province in Java, which encompasses the Ujung Kulon National Park and popular beaches southwest of the capital, Jakarta.

Scientists say the tsunami was probably caused by the eruption of Anak Krakatau, a volcanic island formed over years from the nearby Krakatau volcano. They also cited high tidal waves that were caused by the full moon, which added to the volume of tsunami waves.

Sutopo has also warned that there is still the potential for another tsunami as Krakatoa is still active. There are high tide warnings in place until tomorrow and people are being urged to stay away from the coast for the time being.

“Please do not be around the beaches around the Sunda Strait. Those who have evacuated, please do not return yet,” said Rahmat Triyono, head of the meteorological agency on Sunday. </s> A tsunami apparently caused by the eruption of an island volcano has killed at least 43 people after the waves hit the coast around Indonesia’s Sunda Strait.

Some 600 people have been reported injured when the tsunami hit on Saturday evening, sending a wall of water some 65ft inland and damaging hundreds of houses including hotels.

Scientists from Indonesia’s Meteorology and Geophysics agency said it could have been caused by undersea landslides from the eruption of Anak Krakatau, a volcanic island formed over years from the nearby Krakatau volcano.

They also cited tidal waves caused by the full moon.

“I had to run, as the wave passed the beach and landed 15-20m inland,” Norwegian Oystein Lund Andersen wrote on Facebook.

He said he was taking pictures of the volcano when he suddenly saw a big wave come towards him.

“Next wave entered the hotel area where I was staying and downed cars on the road behind it. Managed to evacuate with my family to higher ground trough forest paths and villages, where we are taken care of (by) the locals. Were unharmed, thankfully.”

The worst affected area was the Pandeglang region of Banten province in Java, which encompasses the Ujung Kulon National Park and popular beaches, the Disaster Management Agency said.

Of the deaths, 33 were in Pandeglang.

In the city of Bandar Lampung on southern Sumatra, hundreds of residents took refuge at the governor’s office.

Alif, a resident in Pandeglang district who goes by one name, said the tsunami reached about 9.8ft high. He told MetroTV station that many people were still searching for missing relatives.

The Anak Krakatau volcano in the Sunda Strait that links the Indian Ocean and Java Sea erupted about 24 minutes before the tsunami, the geophysics agency said.

The 1,000ft-high volcano, about 124 miles south-west of capital Jakarta, has been erupting since June.

In July, authorities widened its no-go areas to 1.24 miles from the crater.

Footage posted by the head of the disaster agency showed the aftermath of flooded streets and an overturned car.

In September, more than 2,500 people were killed by a quake and tsunami that hit the city of Palu on the island of Sulawesi, which is just east of Borneo. </s> The tsunami which hit Indonesia on Saturday evening was the result of volcanic activity in the Anak Krakatoa (child of Mount Krakatoa) island located 34 miles off the Indonesian coast. At least 168 people have been reported dead with "many missing" after the tidal wave struck the beaches of the Sunda Strait filled with locals and tourists. Footage recorded in the area the tsunami hit captured the harrowing aftermath of the wave bringing down homes and businesses in its devastating path.

Piles of debris can be seen littering the seafront, with the tidal wave appearing to have brought down several houses near the beach.

The Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) said the wave was not caused by an earthquake but was the result of volcanic activity at Anak Krakatoa (child of Mount Krakatoa), which triggered an underwater landslide.

The sudden movement of hot magma can cause underwater landslides, which in turn trigger a tsunami. The eruption threw volcanic ash up to 500 meters into the air.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, an Indonesian civil servant and head of public relations at the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management speculated the “cause of the tsunami in Pandeglang and South Lampung is possibly a combination of underwater landslides due to the influence of the eruption of Anak Krakatoa (child of Mount Krakatoa) and the high tides caused by the full moon”.

READ MORE: 'VOLCANO TSUNAMI' strikes Indonesia leaving at least 168 dead and hundreds more injured </s> Scores were left dead and hundreds more injured in Indonesia early Sunday as a tsunami hit the island nation following a volcanic eruption.

The tsunami killed at least 222 people and injured 843 more as the wave came crashing ashore late Saturday on the eastern side of Java, one of the large islands comprising the country, according to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, head of public relations for the Indonesian National Disaster Mitigation Agency.

The number of dead and injured are both likely to rise.

Pandeglang, Serang and South Lampung on the island of Java were the hardest-hit regions, according to authorities. The regions are a few hours west of the capital city of Jakarta with its population of almost 10 million people.

The most-affected area was the Pandeglang region of Banten province in Java, which includes Ujung Kulon National Park and surrounding popular beaches. Of the deaths, 33 were in Pandeglang.

Emergency teams from national agencies were yet to arrive on site and local agencies doing their best to cope with disaster.

There were 430 houses and nine hotels badly damaged in the tsunami as well, Nugroho said.

The tsunami was likely due to underwater slides on the back of the volcanic eruption, Indonesia's Metereological, Climatological and Geological Agency said. The tsunami struck 24 minutes after Anak Krakatau erupted.

"I want to express my deep sorrow for the victims in Serang, Pandeglang and Banten Provice," Indonesian President Joko Widodo said, translated from Indonesian, according to The Associated Press. "May those who are left be patient."

Krakatau, a volcano located between the islands of Java and Sumatra, is known for the historic eruption in 1883 that blew the island apart and killed 30,000 people, but it has erupted regularly since.

The Asia Pacific Office of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said it was already providing first aid to those injured in the disaster.

Indonesia was struck by a massive earthquake and tsunami in late September. The disaster hit Sulawesi, an island hundreds of miles northeast of Java. The disaster killed over 2,000 people and displaced 70,000 more. </s> A tsunami apparently caused by the eruption of an island volcano killed at least 62 people around Indonesia's Sunda Strait, sending a wall of water crashing some 65 feet (20 meters) inland and sweeping away hundreds of houses including hotels, the government and witnesses said.Some 600 people have been reported injured when the tsunami hit 9:27 p.m. Saturday, the Disaster Management Agency said. At least 20 others are unaccounted for.Scientists from Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics agency said it could have been caused by undersea landslides from the eruption of Anak Krakatau, a volcanic island formed over years from the nearby Krakatau volcano. They also cited tidal waves caused by the full moon.Footage posted on social media showed a pop band named "Seventeen" performing under a tent on a beach as dozens of people sat listening at tables covered in white cloths. As bright strobe lights flashed on stage, a child could be seen wandering through the crowd. Then, in between songs with the drummer pounding, the stage suddenly heaved forward, throwing the band and all their equipment into the audience.The band released a statement saying their bass player and road manager were found dead, while four other members of their group remained missing."The tide rose to the surface and dragged all the people on site," it said. "Unfortunately, when the current receded our members are unable to save themselves while some did not find a place to hold on."Tourists were also affected during the holiday weekend ahead of Christmas."I had to run, as the wave passed the beach and landed 15-20m (meters) inland," Norwegian ystein Lund Andersen wrote on Facebook. He said he was taking pictures of the volcano when he suddenly saw a big wave come toward him."Next wave entered the hotel area where I was staying and downed cars on the road behind it. Managed to evacuate with my family to higher ground trough forest paths and villages, where we are taken care of (by) the locals. Were unharmed, thankfully."The worst affected area was the Pandeglang region of Banten province in Java, which encompasses the Ujung Kulon National Park and popular beaches, the disaster agency said. Of the deaths, 33 were in Pandeglang.In the city of Bandar Lampung on southern Sumatra, hundreds of residents took refuge at the governor's office.Alif, a resident in Pandeglang district who goes by one name, said told MetroTV station that many people were still searching for missing relatives.The Anak Krakatau volcano in the Sunda Strait that links the Indian Ocean and Java Sea erupted about 24 minutes before the tsunami, the geophysics agency said.The 305-meter (1,000-foot) -high volcano, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) southwest of capital Jakarta, has been erupting since June. In July, authorities widened its no-go areas to 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) from the crater.Gegar Prasetya, co-founder of the Tsunami Research Center Indonesia, said the waves were likely caused by a flank collapse - when a big section of a volcano's slope gives way. He said it's possible for an eruption to trigger a landslide above ground or beneath the ocean, both capable of producing a tsunami."Actually, the tsunami was not really big, only one meter," said Prasetya, who has closely studied Krakatau. "The problem is people always tend to build everything close to the shoreline."Physical losses included 430 heavily damaged homes, nine heavily damaged hotels and 10 heavily damaged vessels. Footage posted by the head of the disaster agency showed the aftermath of flooded streets and an overturned car.In September, more than 2,500 people were killed by a quake and tsunami that hit the city of Palu on the island of Sulawesi, which is just east of Borneo.In December 2004, a massive magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra island in western Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries. Indonesia is a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands home to 260 million people. Roads and infrastructure are poor in many areas, making access difficult in the best of conditions. </s> Tsunami in Indonesia kills at least 222 without warning

(CNN) — At least 222 people were killed, with hundreds more injured and missing, including members of a pop band, after a tsunami hit the coastline of west Java and Sumatra, Indonesia on Saturday.

There was no warning before the waves struck the Pandeglang district, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, head of public relations at Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency.

The tsunami appears to have been triggered by a combination of underwater landslides caused by the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano in the Sunda Strait that lies between the islands of Java and Sumatra.

Eyewitnesses described fleeing for their lives as beachfront hotels and homes were swept away by a towering wall of water on Saturday evening.

The waves caused a stage to collapse in the Tanjung Lesung beach resort while holidaymakers and locals were watching the Indonesian pop band Seventeen.

One member of the band has been confirmed dead as well as the manager, according to the Jakarta Post. The newspaper said all the other band members were still missing.

Even though Indonesia was the worst country affected by the devastating Boxing Day 2004 tsunami that killed hundred of thousands of people, it still lacks the proper equipment to alert that a tsunami threat is coming.

“We need multi-hazard early warning system,” Nugroho said. “And we need lots of it.”

Nugroho pointed out that tsunamis are much faster and less predictable than tidal waves, which are caused by atmospheric conditions.

“We used to know that a tsunami happens after an earthquake. There was no quake last night. That is why there was no warning,” he said referring to the underwater landslides.

The tsunami has destroyed 558 houses and heavily damaged nine hotels, 60 restaurants and 350 boats, indicating the tsunami hit residential and tourist areas.

Nugroho said 843 people have been injured and 28 are currently unaccounted for.

As of now, no foreigners have been found to have been killed.

The tsunami comes less than three months after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Palu on the island of Sulawesi killing 2,256 people.

A volcanic eruption in Krakatoa in 1883 was one of the deadliest in recorded history at the time, killing more than 36,000 people.

Kathy Mueller, a spokeswoman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Indonesia, told CNN that the organization expected the death toll to rise.

Red Cross teams are bringing in basic household items, clean water and equipment to help clear away debris, Mueller said.

The United Nations’ World Food Programme said in a statement it stood ready to support the Indonesian government.

“We have teams on the ground specialized in disaster response and have been working for years with Indonesia to prepare for such disasters,” said Bettina Luescher, a senior WFP spokesperson.

“Our logistics experts can help bring aid supplies and aid workers to the affected areas. Upon request our experts will support the Indonesian government to assess the damage and assist in the response.”

In October, torrential rains and flooding triggered mudslides that wiped out part of an elementary school in Indonesia’s North Sumatra. Twenty people were killed. </s> PANDEGLANG (Indonesia), Dec 23 — A tsunami killed at least 222 people and injured hundreds on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra following an underwater landslide believed caused by the erupting Anak Krakatau volcano, officials and media said today.

Hundreds of homes and other buildings were "heavily damaged" when the tsunami struck, almost without warning, along the rim of the Sunda Strait late on yesterday, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the disaster mitigation agency, said.

Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate to higher ground. By 1040 GMT, the disaster agency had raised the death toll to 222 from 168, with 843 injured and 28 missing.

TV images showed the seconds when the tsunami hit the beach and residential areas in Pandeglang on Java island, dragging with it victims, debris, and large chunks of wood and metal.

Coastal residents reported not seeing or feeling any warning signs, such as receding water or an earthquake, before waves of 2-3 metres washed ashore, according to media.

Authorities said a warning siren went off in some areas.

The timing of the tsunami, over the Christmas holiday season, evoked memories of the Indian Ocean tsunami triggered by an earthquake on Dec. 26 in 2004, which killed 226,000 people in 14 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.

Øystein Lund Andersen, a Norwegian holidaymaker, was in Anyer town with his family when Saturday's tsunami struck.

"I had to run, as the wave passed the beach and landed 15-20 metres inland. Next wave entered the hotel area where I was staying and downed cars on the road behind it," he said on Facebook. "Managed to evacuate with my family to higher ground through forest paths and villages, where we are taken care of by the locals."

Authorities warned residents and tourists in coastal areas around the Sunda Strait to stay away from beaches and a high-tide warning remained in place through until Dec. 25.

"Those who have evacuated, please do not return yet," said Rahmat Triyono, an official at the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

President Joko Widodo, who is running for re-election in April, said on Twitter that he had "ordered all relevant government agencies to immediately take emergency response steps, find victims and care for the injured".

Vice President Jusuf Kalla told a news conference the death toll would "likely increase".

Yesterday's tsunami was the latest in a series of tragedies that have struck Indonesia, a vast archipelago, this year.

Successive earthquakes flattened parts of the tourist island of Lombok, and a double quake-and-tsunami killed thousands on Sulawesi island. Nearly 200 people died when a Lion Air passenger plane crashed into the Java Sea in October.

Rescue workers and ambulances were finding it difficult to reach affected areas because some roads were blocked by debris from damaged houses, overturned cars and fallen trees.

The western coast of Banten province in Java was the worst-hit area, Nugroho told reporters in Yogyakarta. He said at least 35 people were reported dead in Lampung in southern Sumatra.

The waves washed away an outdoor stage where a local rock band was performing in Tanjung Lesung in Banten province, a popular tourist getaway not far from the capital, Jakarta, killing at least one musician. Others were missing.

Around 250 employees of the state utility company PLN had gathered in Tanjung Lesung for an end-of-year event, company spokesman I Made Suprateka told Reuters. At least seven people were killed, and around 89 are missing, he said.

Dramatic TV footage showed the seconds when the tsunami hit a concert at the event and washed away the stage where the band, Seventeen, was performing.

"The water washed away the stage which was located very close to the sea," the band said in a statement. "The water rose and dragged away everyone at the location. We have lost loved ones, including our bassist and manager ... and others are missing."

Police officers rescued a young boy who was trapped in a car buried under fallen trees and rubble, according to a video of his rescue posted on Twitter by the Indonesian National Police, who did not give any information as to the boy’s identity.

Officials were trying to determine the exact cause of the disaster.

Anak Krakatau, an active volcano roughly halfway between Java and Sumatra, has been spewing ash and lava for months. It erupted again just after 9 p.m. yesterday and the tsunami struck at around 9.30 p.m., according to BMKG.

The tsunami was caused by "an undersea landslide resulting from volcanic activity on Anak Krakatau" and was exacerbated by abnormally high tide because of the full moon, Nugroho said.

Ben van der Pluijm, an earthquake geologist and a professor in the University of Michigan, said the tsunami may have been caused by a "partial collapse" of Anak Krakatau.

"Instability of the slope of an active volcano can create a rock slide that moves a large volume of water, creating local tsunami waves that can be very powerful. This is like suddenly dropping a bag of sand in a tub filled with water," he said.

The eruption of Krakatau, previously known as Krakatoa, in 1883 killed more than 36,000 people in a series of tsunamis.

Anak Krakatau is the island that emerged from the area once occupied by Krakatau, which was destroyed in 1883. It first appeared in 1927 and has been growing ever since.

Neighbouring Malaysia and Australia both said they were ready to provide assistance if needed. — Reuters
At least 281 people are killed and over 1,000 injured when a tsunami triggered by Krakatoa's eruption hits the coast near Indonesia's Sunda Strait.