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Tsunami Strikes Indonesia Without Warning, Killing Over 220 Tsunami Strikes Indonesia Without Warning, Killing Over 220
(about 1 hour later)
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A tsunami in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait struck two of the country’s islands without warning, killing at least 222 people and injuring more than 800, officials said on Sunday. JAKARTA, Indonesia — The hunt was on Sunday for survivors of a tsunami in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait that struck without warning on the country’s two most-populated islands, killing at least 222 people, injuring more than 800 others and destroying hundreds of houses and other buildings.
A three-foot wave, apparently caused by volcanic activity on the island of Anak Krakatau, swept ashore on Saturday night along the coasts of western Java and southern Sumatra. It was the second deadly tsunami in Indonesia this year, capping what will be the country’s worst year for disasters in more than a decade, with earthquakes, floods, fires and an airline crash that have killed more than 4,500 people total.
No earthquake was recorded, and no tsunami warning was issued to people in the area, said Rahmat Triyono, earthquake and tsunami chief at Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency. The tsunami struck about 9:30 on Saturday night, when many Indonesians were at the beaches on western Java and southern Sumatra celebrating a long Christmas holiday weekend.
“We don’t know what caused the tsunami yet,” he said. “We suspect it was caused by the Anak Krakatau activities.” Officials said they suspect that the tsunami — with a wave at least three feet high that hit the coast — had been caused by an undersea landslide that was set off by volcanic activity on the island of Anak Krakatau.
Officials reported deaths and destruction on both Java and Sumatra. The Sunda Strait lies between the islands, connecting the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean. There was no seismic activity in the area, which might have prompted a tsunami evacuation alert and saved lives, they said.
“There was no tsunami warning,” said Rahmat Triyono, earthquake and tsunami chief at Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency. “There was no earthquake.”
Officials put the number of injured at 848 and the missing at 28.Officials put the number of injured at 848 and the missing at 28.
In a Twitter post, President Joko Widodo expressed his “deep sorrow” for the tsunami victims and said he had ordered the relevant government agencies to respond to the emergency. A video posted on YouTube showed the tsunami slamming into a temporary stage erected on Tanjung Lesung Beach, on the Java coast, where a rock band was performing.
Videos from the regency of Pandeglang in Java’s Banten Province showed extensive damage, and officials said the road from Pandeglang to the nearby regency of Serang had been cut off. The band, Seventeen, was playing its second song of a set when the wave burst through a backdrop behind the stage, crashed into the drummer, his drum set and the rest of the musicians, and swept the stage into the audience.
More than 400 homes, nine hotels and at least 10 vessels were damaged or destroyed in Pandeglang, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman for Indonesia’s disaster management agency, said on Twitter. The group reported that the bass player and the road manager had been killed. The lead singer, Riefan Fajarsyah, fighting back tears in an Instagram post, said that his wife, two other band members and a crew member were missing.
He also posted a video of search and rescue workers pulling bodies from the rubble at an unspecified location. The band was performing at a gathering for families of employees of Perusahaan Listrik Negara, the state electricity company. Company officials said that 14 people attending the event had died and that 89 were missing.
The area hit by the tsunami is popular with tourists from Jakarta, the capital, and many people were at the beach on Saturday when the wave struck around 9:30 p.m. The tsunami damaged or destroyed at least 556 homes, nine hotels, 60 small shops and 350 boats, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman for Indonesia’s disaster management agency.
A video posted on YouTube showed the wave hitting a rock band as it performed on a stage on Tanjung Lesung Beach in Pandeglang. The group, Seventeen, said the bass player and road manager had died and that three members of the band were missing. The area hit hardest was Pandeglang regency in Java’s Banten Province, site of Tanjung Lesung Beach. The area is popular with visitors from Jakarta, the capital. Videos and photos from Pandeglang showed extensive damage, with houses crushed and at least one car overturned.
The band was performing at a gathering for families of employees of Perusahaan Listrik Negara, the state electricity company. Company officials said 14 people had died and that 89 were unaccounted for. One video showed a police officer rescuing a 5-year-old boy from a damaged home in Banten.
Anak Krakatau, or the Child of Krakatau, emerged nearly a century ago from the volcanic crater of Krakatau, also called Krakatoa, which erupted in 1883 in one of the largest such events in recorded history. In a video posted on Twitter by Mr. Sutopo, the spokesman for Indonesia’s disaster management agency, search-and-rescue workers are shown pulling two bodies from rubble.
The volcanic island has been growing steadily ever since, and in recent weeks has been erupting frequently. Officials said the road from Pandeglang to the nearby regency of Serang had been cut off, hampering rescue efforts. Dozens also were killed across the Sunda Strait in Sumatra.
Mr. Rahmat said no tsunami warning had been issued to the public because such warnings are prompted by tectonic activity, and no earthquake had occurred. In a Twitter post, President Joko Widodo expressed his “deep sorrow” for the tsunami victims and said he had ordered government agencies to search for survivors, recover bodies and care for the injured.
“There was no tsunami warning,” he said. “There was no earthquake.”
Officials said they would investigate whether the volcanic activity set off an undersea landslide that caused the tsunami.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, sits in an active volcanic and seismic area known as the Ring of Fire.Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, sits in an active volcanic and seismic area known as the Ring of Fire.
In September, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck the island of Sulawesi, setting off an underwater landslide and tsunami that struck the city of Palu and surrounding areas. More than 2,100 people died in that disaster. The Sunda Strait connects the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean and lies between Java, the country’s most-populous island, and Sumatra, the second-most populous.
Anak Krakatau, or the Child of Krakatau, emerged nearly a century ago from the volcanic crater of Krakatau, also called Krakatoa, which erupted in 1883 in one of the largest such events in recorded history.
The volcanic island has been growing steadily ever since, and in recent weeks has been erupting frequently. Officials said they would investigate whether volcanic activity had set off an undersea landslide that caused the tsunami.
“We don’t know what caused the tsunami yet,” said Mr. Rahmat of the meteorology agency. “We suspect it was caused by the Anak Krakatau activities.”
The biggest disaster to strike Indonesia in modern times was the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that hit a dozen countries on Dec. 26 in 2004. In Indonesia, it obliterated much of the city of Banda Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra, and killed about 225,000 people.
In September this year, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck the island of Sulawesi, setting off an underwater landslide and causing a tsunami that struck the city of Palu and surrounding areas. More than 2,100 people died.
In August, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Lombok island, killing more than 550.
The death toll from disasters in Indonesia this year is the worst since 2005, when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the city of Yogyakarta on Java island, killing more than 5,000 people.