A tsunami following a volcanic eruption killed 222 people and injured 800 more as it slammed without warning into tourist beaches and coastal areas around Indonesia’s SundaStrait on Saturday night.
It is speculated that the tsunami was caused by activity around a volcanic island in the strait, Krakatoa, which is 156 km west of the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.
Indonesia, one of the most disaster-prone nations on earth, straddles the so-called Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’, where tectonic plates collide and a large portion of the world’s volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.
Most recently in the city of Palu on Sulawesi island a quake and tsunami killed thousands of people.
In 2004, a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.3 undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in western Indonesia killed 220,000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean, including 168,000 in Indonesia.
Damaged cars are seen among collapsed houses after a tsunami hit Banten, Indonesia. Photograph: Antara Foto/Dian Triyuli Handoko/Reuters
Residents collect debris from their collapsed house after it was hit by a tsunami at Panimbang district in Pandeglang, Banten province, Indonesia. Photograph: Antara Foto/Muhammad Bagus Khoirunas/Reuters
Debris is seen after a tsunami hit the area in Pandeglang, Banten province, Indonesia. Photograph: Reuters
A local walks near her damaged house hit by tsunami at Tanjung Lesung district in Pandeglang, Banten province, Indonesia. Photograph: Antara Foto/Muhammad Bagus Khoirunas/Reuters
A soldier examines as he takes care of a local resident who was injured following a tsunami which hit at Tanjung Lesung district in Pandeglang, Banten province, Indonesia. Photograph: Antara Foto/Muhammad Bagus Khoirunas/Reuters
Residents sit inside a mosque as they evacuated following high waves and the eruption of Anak Krakatau volcano at Labuan district in Pandeglang regency, Banten province, Indonesia. Photograph: Antara Foto/Muhammad Bagus Khoirunas/Reuters
A house and a small shop is seen after hit by tsunami at Tanjung Lesung district in Pandeglang, Banten province, Indonesia. Photograph: Antara Foto/Muhammad Bagus Khoirunas/Reuters
A women cries as she reads a list of victims who were killed in a tsunami, at Carita in Padeglang, Banten province, Indonesia. Photograph: Antara Foto/Asep Fathulrahman/Reuters