Volcano tsunami’s toll tipped to rise
At least 43 people killed as monster wave hits without warning
AT least 43 people have been killed and nearly 600 injured in a tsunami in Indonesia that may have been caused by a volcano known as the “child” of the legendary Krakatoa, officials said yesterday.
Hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the wave, which hit beaches without warning in South Sumatra and the western tip of Java about 9.30pm local time (1430 GMT) on Saturday, national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement.
At least 43 people died and 584 people were injured across three regions.
Authorities say the tsunami may have been triggered by an abnormal tidal surge due to a new moon and an underwater landslide following the eruption of Anak Krakatoa, which forms a small island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra.
“The combination caused a sudden tsunami that hit the coast,” Mr Nugroho said, but added that Indonesia’s geological agency was working to ascertain how it happened.
He added that the death toll would likely increase.
Video footage posted to social media by Mr Nugroho showed panicked residents clutching flashlights and fleeing for higher ground.
Indonesian authorities initially claimed the wave was not a tsunami, but instead a tidal surge and urged the public not to panic.
Mr Nugroho later apologised for the mistake on Twitter, saying because there was no earthquake it had been difficult to ascertain the cause of the incident early on.
“If there is an initial error we’re sorry,” he wrote.
The wave swamped parts of the coast around the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra island, but was most damaging in Pandeglang district, on Java’s western tip, where 33 people died and 491 people were injured.
At Carita beach, a popular day-tripping spot on the west coast of Java, 15-year-old Muhammad Bintang described a sudden surge of water that plunged the tourist spot into darkness.