The deadly wave was triggered by the eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano.
Officials say no tsunami alerts were sent out before Saturday’s wave because the country’s tsunami warning network hasn’t worked properly since 2012. Image: FAUZY CHANIAGO/AP
A VOLCANIC ERUPTION IN Indonesia over the weekend triggered a deadly tsunami, which has left at least 370 people dead and dozens missing.
The deadly wave, which struck the country's coastline with no warning on Saturday, reached heights of up to 10 feet, CNN reported. The tsunami is thought to have been triggered by underwater landslides caused by the eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano. Officials are concerned that more deadly tsunamis may be in store for the country as the volcano continues to erupt.
Following the deadly tsunami, Indonesian President Joko Widodo ordered that the country's Meteorology, Climatology and Geological Agency purchase tsunami detectors to provide warnings of impending catastrophic waves.
Among the dead are four of the five members of the popular Indonesia pop band Seventeen, and dozens of those in the audience. A video shows the wave crashing on the stage where the band was performing near the beach.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman at Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency, said that no tsunami alerts were sent out before Saturday's wave because the country's tsunami warning network hasn't worked properly since 2012 due to vandalism, limited budget and technical damage. The system needs "to be rebuilt to strengthen [the] Indonesia Tsunami Early Warning System."
Nugroho tweeted that "the tsunami came suddenly" and communities had no time for evacuation. The death toll continues to climb, he said.
According to Nugroho, along with the 370 dead, 1,016 people were injured, 57 are missing, 11,687 have been displaced and 611 houses have been damaged...
Nugroho said that there needs to be more early warning systems in place for other natural disasters, such as floods, landslides, eruptions and forest fires.
An inferior early warning system is also blamed for the high death toll from a tsunami and earthquake in October that killed more than 2,000 people in the country.
Source: US News
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