The December 22 tsunami kills more than 220 people and injuring over 840 others (Source: VNA) Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo on December 23ordered all relevant government agencies to immediately take emergency responsesteps, find victims and care for the injured following the December 22 tsunami.
The tsunami, which came after a volcaniceruption in the country one day earlier, hit beaches in South Sumatra and thewestern tip of Java at about 9.30 pm local time on December 22, killing morethan 220 people and injuring over 840 others.
Rescuers said that roads full of debrisfrom collapsed houses and fallen trees are hampering them from approaching theaffected areas. They are exerting efforts to evacuate the injured, provide survivorswith clean water and shelter, and make preparations for the possibility of diseaseoutbreaks.
Locals and tourists were warned not to goto beaches as high tide will continue until the end of December 25.
Indonesia’s neighbouring countries such asMalaysia and Australia affirmed their willingness to give support if beingasked.
Experts warned on December 23 that another tsunamicould strike Indonesia.
The December 22 tsunami "appears tohave been caused by an underwater collapse" of part of the Anak Krakatoa volcano,said David Rothery of the Open University in the United Kingdom.
Anak Krakatoa is a new island that emergedaround 1928 in the crater left by Krakatoa, whose massive 1883 eruption killedat least 36,000 people.
Richard Teeuw of the University ofPortsmouth in the UK said that "such waves - laden with debris - can bedeadly for coastal communities, especially if there is no warning."
Teeuw said that sonar surveys would now beneeded to map the seafloor around the volcano, but "unfortunatelysubmarine surveys typically take many months to organise and carry out,"he added.
Indonesia, one of the most disaster-pronenations on earth, straddles the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire",where tectonic plates collide and a large portion of the world’s volcaniceruptions and earthquakes occur. Anak Krakatau is one of 127 active volcanoeswhich run the length of the archipelago.
Most recently, a quake and tsunami killedthousands of people in the city of Palu on Sulawesi island in September.
In 2004, a tsunami triggered by a magnitude9.3 undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in western Indonesia killed220,000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean, including 168,000 inIndonesia.-VNA
VNA
