Abrar Hussain of DOT:
The death toll from a volcano-triggered tsunami in Indonesia has risen to 222, with more than 800 people injured, officials said yesterday.
“222 people are dead, 843 people are injured and 28 people are missing,” according to a statement by Indonesia’s national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
“This number is predicted to increase because not all victims have been successfully evacuated, not all health centers have reported victims and not all locations have got complete data. Images of the aftermath of the tsunami in coastal areas show a trail of uprooted trees and debris strewn across beaches. A tangled mess of corrugated steel roofing, timber and rubble was dragged inland at Carita beach, a popular day-tripping spot on the west coast of Java.
Muhammad Bintang, who was at Carita beach when the wave hit, described a sudden surge of water that plunged the tourist spot into darkness.
“We arrived at 9pm for our holiday and suddenly the water came — it went dark, the electricity is off,” the 15-year-old told AFP.
“It’s messy outside and we still cannot access the road.”
Authorities say the tsunami may have been triggered by an abnormal tidal surge due to a new moon and an underwater landslide following the eruption of Anak Krakatoa, which forms a small island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra.
-Source: Arab News