“The tsunami hit several areas of the Sunda Strait, including beaches in Pandeglang regency, Serang, and South Lampung,” a statement issued from the from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said. (Source: Twitter)At least 62 people were killed and nearly 600 injured on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java after a tsunami struck the coastal areas around the Sunda Strait on Saturday late evening. The tsunami sent a wall of water, some 20 metres inland, “heavily damaging” buildings and homes, according to witnesses and the government.
“The tsunami hit several areas of the Sunda Strait, including beaches in Pandeglang regency, Serang, and South Lampung,” a statement issued from the from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said.
The tsunami which struck the island at around 9:30 pm local time on Saturday evening was caused by “an undersea landslide resulting from volcanic eruption of Anak Krakatau, a volcanic island formed over years from the nearby Krakatau volcano”. It was exacerbated by abnormally high tide because of the current full moon situation, Indonesia’s disaster management agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
A combination of the underwater landslides with volcanic eruption caused the tsunami. It was nearly 24 minutes after the Anak Krakatau erupted that the tsunami struck the island. “It’s possible the materials around Anak Krakatau collapsed to the sea and triggered the tsunami and affected beaches around Sunda Strait.”
This image made from video shows Anak Krakatau volcano erupting in Indonesia, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018. A tsunami apparently caused by the eruption of an island volcano hit the coast around Indonesia’s Sunda Strait, sending a wall of water some 65 feet (20 meters) inland and damaging hundreds of houses including hotels, the government and witnesses said.(TV ONE via AP)The Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean.
The 305-metre-high volcano, about 200 kilometres southwest of country capital Jakarta, has been erupting since June. In July, authorities widened its no-go areas to 2 kilometres from the crater.
“I had to run, as the wave passed the beach and landed 15-20m (metres) inland,” Oystein Lund Andersen, a witness 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 through forest paths and villages, where we are taken care of (by) the locals. Were unharmed, thankfully.”
The deaths bring back memories of December 26, 2004, when an Indian Ocean tsunami triggered by an earthquake killed 226,000 people in 13 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.
