At least 168 people died, hundreds injured when a tsunami — likely triggered by a volcanic eruption — hit Indonesia’s Sunda Strait Saturday night, according to the country’s national disaster agency.
HOUSES AND MANY BUILDINGS WERE DAMAGED
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the National Disaster Management Agency, said in a tweet that the death toll in Pandeglang reached 126 people, in Serang nine and in Lampung 33. A total of 558 houses and many buildings were damaged after the tsunami which mostly affected the Pandenglang, South Lampung and Serang areas, Nugroho said.
THE DEATH TOLL INCREASES
“The death toll may still increase because not all affected areas have been recorded,” he added. In an earlier statement Nugroho said that over 580 people were injured. “The affected areas are settlements and tourist areas along the coast such as Tanjung Lesung Beach, Sumur, Teluk Lada, Penimbang and Carita. The time of many tourists visit the beach along Pandeglang,” the statement read.
According to the country’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency, the tsunami could have been triggered by undersea landslides after the eruption of Anak Krakatau. The agency said the tsunami struck around 24 minutes after the volcanic eruption.
EMERGENCY TEAMS ARE DISPATCHED THE AREA
Emergency teams are dispatched to the disaster-hit area while heavy equipment is also deployed to assist evacuation and emergency repairs, Nugroho said. Indonesia lies within the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire” where tectonic plates collide and cause frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
2000 PEOPLE DIED IN 2004
Last September, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake had struck the country’s Sulawesi Island, which triggered a tsunami in the cities of Donggala and Palu that towered up to 10 feet (3 meters) high, killing over 2,000 people.
On Dec. 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck the eastern coast of Sumatra, triggering a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people as it tore along the coasts of Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.