Search for survivors after killer tsunami
This caused an underwater landslide and eventually caused the tsunami. Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the meteorological agency
LABUAN, Indonesia: The death toll from a tsunami triggered by a massive underwater landslide on an Indonesian volcano rose to more than 280 yesterday, as rescuers using heavy machinery and their bare hands searched through debris in the hope of finding survivors.
Indonesia’s meteorological agency confirmed the collapse of part of Anak Krakatau, a volcano midway between Java and Sumatra, caused a tsunami 2- 3 metres high that hit the rim of the Sunda Strait late on Saturday.
At least 1,000 people were injured and nearly 12,000 coastal residents forcibly evacuated to higher ground, with a high-tide warning extended to Wednesday.
Anak Krakatau, which means child of Krakatau, has been spewing ash and lava for months. 0.64 square km of the southwest side of the volcano collapsed.
“This caused an underwater landslide and eventually caused the tsunami,” said Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the meteorological agency.
Aid trickled in to Pandeglang, the worst-affected area on Java’s west coast, and hundreds of soldiers and volunteers picked through piles of wreckage looking for bodies along a 100 km stretch of beach.
Saturday’s tsunami came with almost no warning and destroyed more than 700 buildings, from small shops and houses to villas and hotels.
Disaster mitigation agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said Indonesia had no warning system for volcanoes and underwater landslides.
Richard Teeuw, a geohazard expert from the University of Portsmouth in England, said the eruption and landslide may well have destabilised the volcano, heightening the risk of another tsunami.
President Joko Widodo visited the area yesterday and said an alert system was needed.
“I’ve instructed the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency to buy a detection device or a system that would provide an early warning so that the residents can be spared,” he told reporters.
Dramatic video posted on social media showed a wall of water suddenly crashing into a concert by pop group “Seventeen” – hurling band members off the stage and then flooding into the audience.
At least two band members were killed along with its manager and a crew member, while Indonesian media said the band’s missing drummer was found dead yesterday.
The surviving lead singer’s wife is missing. Front man Riefian Fajarsyah posted a picture online of he and his wife kissing in Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
“Today is your birthday – I want wish you a happy birthday in person. Come home soon, honey,” he wrote in the caption of the photo, which was posted Sunday. — Agencies