Anak Krakatau Earthquake Causes Indonesian Tsunami That Kills 222 People

On Saturday at about 9:27 pm a Tsunami hit the Pandeglang district of Indonesia. The District is within the coastline of Java and Sumatra.

The Tsunami which came without warning according to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho the Head of Public Relations of  Indonesia National Disaster Mitigation Agency with twitter handle @Sutopo_PN has claimed the lives of approximately 222 people and a member of a Pop Band.

The Tsunami is said to have been triggered by underwater landslides that were caused by the Volcanic eruption of Anak Krakatau which translates to “Child of Krakatoa”  within the Sunda Strait which lies within
Java and Sumatra islands. it links the Indian Ocean and the Java Sea.

Analysis of the cause of the disaster from Scientist, including those from the Indonesia Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said it may have been caused by Undersea Landslides or those occurring above sea level on the Anak Krakatau Volcano steep outside slope. The Scientist also hinted that the tidal waves caused by the full moon may also have contributed to the disaster.

According to some eyewitness reports, the Tsunami swept away a beachfront Hotel and homes. It also caused a stage in the Tanjung Lesung beach resort to collapsed when holidaymakers and Locals were watching the Indonesian pop band called “Seventeen” perform.

As gleaned from social media footage, The band was performing under a tent at the Tanjung Lesung beach. It was a concert for the employees of the  State-owned electricity company.

From the footage, members of the audience could be seen as they sat behind tables covered in white cloths and listening to the music as the band played. Other were seen dancing to the music also.

A Child could also be seen wandering in the crowd when seconds later, the stage in which the band called “Seventeen” played and was about entering the next sound as the drummer played, heaved forward and buckled from the force of the water wave and washed the band and the stage to the audience.

From an official message released by the group, Their Bass player and road manager were confirmed dead as a result of the Tsunami.

They also said that three of their other members and wife of one of their performers are still missing.

We will recall that Indonesia was the country that was severely affected by the 26th December 2014 tsunami that took the lives of thousands of people, it still lacks the equipment and technical know how to alert its populace to the impending danger of natural disasters like a tsunami.

The Tsunami is hitting Indonesia in less than three months after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit Palu on the Sulawesi Island and killed 2,256 people.

The said Anak Krakatau Volcanic eruption that caused Saturdays’ Tsunami is said to be the deadliest Volcanic eruption in History. It happened in 1883 and took the lives of over 36,000 people. it erupted as Krakatoa from which Anak Krakatau grew from the 1920s.

As at the time of writing this report, according to CNN,

“The tsunami has destroyed 558 houses and heavily damaged nine hotels, 60 restaurants, and 350 boats, indicating the tsunami hit residential and tourist areas. Nugroho said 843 people have been injured and 28 are currently unaccounted for. As of now, no foreigners have been found to have been killed”.

The Disaster Management Agency has said the death toll may continue to rise because some affected areas have not yet been reached.

They also said that the worst affected area is the Pandeglang region of  Java Island’s Banten Province which
encompassed Ujung Kulon National Park and Popular beaches.

Joko “Jokowi” Widodo the Indonesian President has expressed his sympathy and ordered Government Agencies to respond immediately to the disaster.