A tsunami killed scores of people, 222 at last count, and injured hundreds on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra following an underwater landslide believed to have been caused by the erupting Anak Krakatau volcano, officials and media said on Sunday.
Hundreds of homes and other buildings were “heavily damaged” when the tsunami struck, almost without warning, along the rim of the Sunda Strait, a spokesman for the disaster mitigation agency, said.
Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate to higher ground.
This image made from video shows Anak Krakatau volcano erupting in Indonesia on December 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 inland and damaging hundreds of houses including hotels, the government and witnesses said.
People inspect the wreckage of a car swept away by a tsunami in Carita, Indonesia on December 23, 2018. The tsunami occurred after the eruption of a volcano around Indonesia's Sunda Strait during a busy holiday weekend, sending water crashing ashore and sweeping away hotels, hundreds of houses and people attending a beach concert.
A man reacts after identifying his relative among the bodies of tsunami victims in Carita, Indonesia on December 23, 2018.
Hundreds of homes and other buildings were “heavily damaged” when the tsunami struck, almost without warning, along the rim of the Sunda Strait, a spokesman for the disaster mitigation agency, said.
The timing of the tsunami, over the Christmas holiday season, evoked memories of the Indian Ocean tsunami triggered by an earthquake on Dec. 26 in 2004, which killed 226,000 people in 13 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.
Authorities warned residents and tourists in coastal areas around the Sunda Strait to stay away from beaches and a high-tide warning remained in place through until Dec. 25.
The tsunami was caused by “an undersea landslide resulting from volcanic activity on Anak Krakatau” and was exacerbated by abnormally high tide because of the full moon, Nugroho said.
Residents talk to police officers as they search for family members outside a local health centre following a tsunami at Panimbang district in Pandeglang, Banten province, Indonesia on December 23, 2018.
Ben van der Pluijm, an earthquake geologist and a professor in the University of Michigan, said the tsunami may have been caused by a “partial collapse” of Anak Krakatau.
An aerial photo shows damaged buildings in Carita on December 23, 2018 after the area was hit by a tsunami following an eruption of the Anak Krakatoa volcano.
Rescue workers and ambulances were finding it difficult to reach affected areas because some roads were blocked by debris from damaged houses, overturned cars and fallen trees.
