Landslip tsunami kills scores
Eruption triggers tsunami
A VOLCANIC eruption followed by an underwater landslip prompted the weekend’s destructive Indonesia tsunami.
A 5mhigh tsunami struck the rim of the Sunda Strait, heavily damaging hundreds of buildings.
At least 168 people were killed and many more are missing.
The deadly tsunami was exacerbated by abnormally high tides.
JAKARTA: A tsunami killed at least 168 people and injured 584 people on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra after an underwater landslip caused by the eruption of Krakatau, officials said yesterday.
Hundreds of buildings were ‘‘heavily damaged’’ when the 5mtall tsunami struck the rim of the Sunda Strait late on Saturday and 30 people were missing.
It 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 quakeandtsunami killed thousands on Sulawesi Island. Nearly 200 people died when a Lion Air passenger plane crashed into the Java Sea in October.
Authorities warned residents and tourists in coastal areas around the Sunda Strait to stay away from beaches and a hightide warning remained in place until tomorrow.
‘‘Please do not be around the beaches around the Sunda Strait. Those who have evacuated, please do not return yet,’’ Rahmat Triyono, an official at the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), said.
TV footage showed roads blocked by debris from damaged houses, overturned cars and fallen trees. The water washed away an outdoor stage where a local rock band was performing, killing at least one musician. Others were missing.
On December 26 in 2004, an Indian Ocean tsunami triggered by an earthquake killed 226,000 people in 13 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia. The eruption of Krakatau in 1883 killed more than 36,000 people in a series of tsunamis.
Endan Permana, head of the disaster mitigation agency in Pandeglang, told Metro TV police were providing assistance to victims in Tanjung Lesung in Banten province, a popular tourist getaway not far from the capital, Jakarta, as emergency workers had not arrived.
‘‘Many are missing,’’ Permana said.
At least seven people were reported dead in Lampung in southern Sumatra.
Rescue workers and ambulances were finding it difficult to reach the affected areas because some roads were blocked by debris, Ketut Sukerta, head of the disaster agency in South Lampung, said.
About 250 employees of the state utility company PLN had gathered in Tanjung Lesung for an endofyear event, company spokesman I Made Suprateka told Reuters. At least seven were killed and many suffered broken bones, he said.
Dramatic TV footage showed the seconds when waves hit a concert at the event and washed away the stage where local rock 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.’’
The disaster mitigation agency said it was still compiling information on the disaster and there was a ‘‘possibility that data on the victims and damage will increase’’.
The tsunami was caused by ‘‘an undersea landslide resulting from volcanic activity on Anak Krakatau’’ and was exacerbated by abnormally high tides because of the full moon, disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
Anak Krakatau is an island that emerged from an area once occupied by Krakatau, which was completely destroyed in the 1883 disaster. It appeared in 1927 and has been growing since. — Reuters