More deadly tsunami could strike the Indonesian coastline in the coming days, authorities warn, as the volcano which triggered the weekend's devastating wave continues to erupt.
At least 281 people have died from the tsunami, which struck the Indonesian coastline without warning Saturday night. Hundreds more are injured and more than two dozen remain missing.
In the wake of Saturday's disaster, Indonesian President Joko Widodo ordered Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geological Agency (BMKG) to purchase detectors which would provide "early warnings to community."
Eyewitnesses described fleeing for their lives as beachfront homes were swept away in the wave, which is thought to have been caused by underwater landslides following the eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano.
According to local media, the wave reached as high as three meters (10 feet).
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman at Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency, warned Sunday that more tsunamis were possible as long as the volcano remained active.
We are cautioning the people to remain cautious," Sutopo said. "Agencies are still continuing to analyze the root cause ... the Krakatau volcano continues to erupt, which could potentially trigger another tsunami."
Adding weight to his warnings, Sutopo raised the issue of Indonesia's outdated tsunami buoy network which he said hasn't worked properly since 2012.
"Vandalism, limited budget, technical damage caused no tsunami (alerts) at this time," he said on his official Twitter account.
A lack of warning was also blamed for the high death toll in Indonesia's October tsunami which killed more than 2,000 people on the western coast of Sulawesi.
A crowd was watching Indonesian pop band Seventeen at a show organized by state-run electric company PLN at the Tanjung Lesun beach resort when the massive wave crashed through the stage and threw it into the audience.
The band's bass player and manager were killed, lead singer Riefian Fajarsyah said in a tearful video posted on Instagram. Three other members of Seventeen and Fajarsyah's wife, whose birthday is Sunday are still missing, he said.
According to Eyewitness, 843 people have been reportedly been injured and 28 others unaccounted for.
The tsunami is believed to have been triggered when the Anak Krakatau volcano erupted in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra, prompting a series of underwater landslides, according to Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geological Agency (BMKG).
When the displaced rock shifted beneath the water's surface, it "pushed up" the water on top of it, CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar said and generated the tsunami.
Anak Krakatau sits between the islands of Java and Sumatra.
The tsunami's impacts were compounded by a tidal wave caused by the full moon, BMKG said in a news release.
Anak Krakatau is known for its 1883 eruption -- one of the deadliest in recorded history -- that killed more than 36,000 people.
Despite the devastating 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that killed hundreds of thousands of people, Indonesia lacks proper equipment to warn of an incoming tsunami threat.
Source: https://newspremises..com/2018/12/indonesia-tsunami-more-deadly-might.html