Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Kearney gets role as new RTE reporter
Tsunami kills 222 including boyband and fans as ‘Child of Krakatoa’ blows
BBC journalist Vincent Kearney is to be given the post as RTE’S correspondent for Northern Ireland.
The home affairs correspondent will join the Republic’s national broadcaster next month.
The Armagh man previously reported for The Sunday Times and The Belfast Telegraph, where he worked for nine years and held the post of Deputy News Editor.
Mr Kearney said he is excited to be taking up the new position after several years in his current role.
He added: “I’m delighted to be joining RTE.
“I’ve had 17 wonderful, enjoyable years working with a great team at the BBC. I look forward to this new challenge and to joining a new team.” A DEVASTATING tsunami has killed at least 222 people and injured more than 840.
Two huge waves smashed at night into coastal towns in Indonesia, destroying hundreds of houses and nine hotels. Officials expect the death toll to rise “significantly”.
The horror was a grim reminder of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunamis, which killed 227,000 around the Indian Ocean, 167,000 of them in Indonesia.
Unlike the earthquaketriggered catastrophe of 2004, yesterday’s tsunami was caused by undersea landslides after the Anak Krakatoa volcano erupted.
The waves hit popular tourist destinations including the Tanjung Lesung beach resort on Java island.
Deaths were reported in Pandeglang province and the city of Serang on Java. More died in Lampung province on the neighbouring island of Sumatra.
Shocking social media footage showed a wave strike a tent in which an Indonesian boyband, Seventeen, was performing at Lesung Beach.
Members of the band were swept away and fans could be heard screaming.
The band’s guitarist Awal Purbani and road manager Oki Wijaya were later found dead. The drummer, a crew member and the wife of singer Riefian Fajarsyah remain missing.
In a poignant Instagram update, Riefian said: “Today is your birthday, hurry home dear.” Red Cross official
RED CROSS OFFICIAL
KRAKATOA is one of the largest and most infamous volcanoes in the world.
The current island, known as Anak Krakatoa, or the Child of Krakatoa, is actually just the highest point of a massive crater Kathy Mueller described the devastation: “There is debris littering the ground, crushed cars, crushed motor0cycles, buildings are collapsed. It appears the main road into Pandeglang is badly damaged, making it difficult to reach the area.”
Witness Asep Perangkat said: “Cars were dragged about 10 metres, and so were containers.
“Buildings on the edge of Carita beach were destroyed, trees and pylons fell to the ground.”
Earthquake geologist Ben van der Pluijm, a professor at the University of Michigan, said: “Instability of the slope of an active volcano can create a
that makes up the active volcano. In 1883, Krakatoa erupted so violently it destroyed parts of two other volcanoes to form one super-large crater. The eruption and tsunamis that followed it killed around 37,000 people. The 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.”
The volcano Anak Krakatoa, meaning “Child of Krakatoa”, has been highly active since June, occasionally sending massive plumes of ash high into the sky. In October a tour boat was nearly hit by lava bombs.
The volcanic island emerged in 1928 out of the remains of the giant crater of Krakatoa, the volcano that famously exploded in 1883 in one of the most violent modern eruptions.
The island of Krakatoa was blasted to bits as the eruption spewed ash eight miles high. Thousands died. Uninhabited Krakatoa is a popular tourist attraction.
blast was so huge it changed global weather. There were floods in Los Angeles and in Europe temperatures dropped by as much as 1.2C.
This year Anak Krakatoa woke, frequently belching lava and ash.