Tsunami from erupting Krakatau kills at least 222 in Indonesia

[Eugene]

Last edited Sun Dec 23, 2018, 07:51 AM - Edit history (3)

Source: Reuters

PANDEGLANG, Indonesia (Reuters) - A tsunami killed at least 222 people and injured hundreds on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra following an underwater landslide believed caused by the erupting Anak Krakatau volcano, officials and media said on Sunday.

Hundreds of homes and other buildings were "heavily damaged" when the tsunami struck, almost without warning, along the rim of the Sunda Strait late on Saturday, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the disaster mitigation agency, said.

Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate to higher ground. By 1040 GMT, the disaster agency had raised the death toll to 222 from 168, with 843 injured and 28 missing.

TV images showed the seconds when the tsunami hit the beach and residential areas in Pandeglang on Java island, dragging with it victims, debris, and large chunks of wood and metal.

-snip-

WORLD NEWS DECEMBER 22, 2018 / 6:02 PM / UPDATED 26 MINUTES AGO
Johan Purnomo, Adi Kurniawan
6 MIN READ


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-tsunami/at-least-20-die-when-tsunami-hits-indonesian-islands-of-java-sumatra-idUSKCN1OL0P2

---

EDIT: Article updated at link

Previous Reuters headlines:

Multiple fatalities as tsunami hits beaches in Indonesia

At least 20 die when tsunami hits Indonesian islands of Java, Sumatra

Previous BBC headline: 'Volcano tsunami' hits Indonesia after Krakatoa eruption

______________________________________________________________________

Source: BBC

Indonesia tsunami hits Sunda Strait after Krakatau eruption

47 minutes ago


Officials say Anak Krakatau could have caused underwater landslides

More than 220 people have been killed and 843 injured after a tsunami hit coastal towns on Indonesia's Sunda Strait, government officials say.

The tsunami waves struck at night without any warning, destroying hundreds of buildings.

Officials say the tsunami could have been caused by undersea landslides after Anak Krakatau volcano erupted.

The Sunda Strait, between the islands of Java and Sumatra, connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46663158

[applegrove]

1. Any idea where the quake was?

[Eugene]

2. According to BBC, Mount Krakatoa erupted.

'Volcano tsunami' hits Indonesia after Krakatoa eruption

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46663158

[applegrove]

4. Vibes to the people and their safety.

[canetoad]

11. Krakatoa blew itself to bits and vanished in 1883

Eventually a new volcanic cone emerged in the caldera called "Anak Krakatau" or Child of Krakatoa.

[LeftInTX]

14. That's so crazy

I knew about Krakatoa, but didn't know it destroyed the mountain and island.

The new one grows 22 ft/yr.
Since the 1950s. So it's at least 1200 ft.

[Baclava]

22. All of Indonesia is basically a long chain on volcanoes, sitting over a crack in the earth's crust

[Trailrider1951]

24. Here is an excellent synopsis of the geology of the area

https://tectonicplatesindonesia.weebly.com/causes.html

Hope this helps!

[Baclava]

26. It's all cracking open!

[RobertDevereaux]

3. Here...

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Sunda+Strait,+Indonesia/Bali,+Indonesia/@-8.3871976,110.9249323,6z/data=!4m8!4m7!1m2!1m1!1s0x2e418a39b3a0f867:0x2a01e8f229efc380!1m2!1m1!1s0x2dd22f7520fca7d3:0x2872b62cc456cd84!3e0

[applegrove]

5. Showed me a map of where I am in Ottawa and told me it could

not find a way to Bali.

[Eugene]

7. DU software mangled the URL.

This link should work:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Sunda+Strait,+Indonesia/Bali,+Indonesia/%40-8.3871976,110.9249323,6z/data=!4m8!4m7!1m2!1m1!1s

[applegrove]

8. Same thing. It is okay. It may be my phone and my lack of understanding of

how it works. So Indonesia. Those poor souls.

[LeftInTX]

12. Wikipedia on Krakatoa is fairly helpful

I can't link cuz I'm on my phone. Google map won't work for me either.

[link:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krakatoa|

[applegrove]

13. I wanted to know for selfish reasons. My brother lives in Asia but not near Indonesia.

I wanted to see if he was close or living by an ocean.

[RobertDevereaux]

28. Sorry for that...

Still pretty new getting links to work on DU.

[uppityperson]

6. Landslides under water. Poor people

[Baclava]

9. Tsunami likely triggered by 'Anak Krakatoa' volcano

Authorities say the tsunami may have been triggered by an abnormal tidal surge due to a new moon and an underwater landslide following the eruption of Anak Krakatoa, which forms a small island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra

Anak Krakatoa is one of 127 active volcanoes which run the length of the archipelago.

https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/2179246/least-20-killed-165-wounded-after-tsunami-hits-indonesia

[TJKatd]

10. Death toll rising....

Just saw it's now 43. Horrible!

[KY_EnviroGuy]

15. News from nearer to this disaster.....

Death toll from Indonesia 'volcano' tsunami climbs to 62, hundreds injured
23 Dec 2018 07:05AM
(Updated: 23 Dec 2018 12:16PM)

Link: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/tsunami-indonesia-20-dead-beaches-volcano-krakatoa-11057318

(snips)

JAKARTA: Indonesia's disaster agency said 62 people were dead and another 584 injured after a tsunami struck coastal areas around the Sunda Strait between the islands of Sumatra and Java on Saturday (Dec 22) night.

Twenty people remain missing, according to authorities.
----
Authorities say the tsunami may have been triggered by an underwater landslide following the eruption of Anak Krakatoa, which forms a small island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra.

Meanwhile, people injured were rushed to health facilities to receive treatment. Television footage showed roads blocked by debris from damaged houses, overturned cars and fallen trees. Authorities warned residents and tourists in coastal areas around the Sunda Strait to stay away from beaches and a high-tide warning remained in place through till Dec. 25.

and..

Indonesia tsunami: Wave crashes into local pop band Seventeen's concert
23 Dec 2018 11:26AM
(Updated: 23 Dec 2018 12:04PM)

Link: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/indonesia-tsunami-pop-band-seventeen-s-members-audience-missing-11057542

(snips)

JAKARTA: Members of the Indonesian pop band Seventeen, along with members of the audience at their concert on Saturday (Dec 22) night, are among the missing after a tsunami engulfed the crowd. A dramatic video circulating online shows the band members performing on stage in front of a seated audience at Tanjung Lesong resort, at the tip of western Java.

Seconds into the video, the stage appears to be brought down by the wave, with screams heard from the crowd as they attempt to flee. One member of the band died, according to its lead singer who posted a video on Instagram.

In an emotional video post, Riefian Fajarsyah, the band's vocalist, said his wife, actress Dylan Sahara, was missing, along with other band members.

...............

[Talitha]

16. So sad....

[NJCher]

17. I thought there was an alarm system that monitored the ocean floor

??

[LakeSuperiorView]

21. "the ocean floor" is a pretty big place.

For earth quakes, seismographs can detect them from long distances and networking can pinpoint the epicenter. Knowing where the quake was in three dimensions can predict if there will be a tsunami.

For landslides, there is next to nothing...

[Igel]

23. The US set one up for the US.

It monitors the Pacific for threats to the West Coast. It's annoying--it's a series of buoys. It's to detect tsunamis, not predict them given a landslide or earthquake.

In addition to the actual tsunami warning system, there are predictive tools. Earthquakes of a certain kind and trigger tsunamis directly; they can create landslides underwater or above water, that trigger tsunamis. An Hawaiian Island is set for a massive landslide that'll create a nice wave; Norway apparently produced some whoppers in the past that smacked England, and still could produce that kind of landslide. Those might be triggered by an earthquake--but probably not. So seismographs would only help if the landslide left a seismic signature.

In 2005 with the Aceh tsunami there was a call for an Indian Ocean tsunami detection system. The Sunda Trench was to be a specific target of this system. Largely because it's dangerous, but also because it was the squeaky wheel at the time. I don't know if it was ever built, but it wasn't a US goal because it wasn't a US goal. C.S. Peirce wrote about science that there are many experiments that could be done, but we narrow them down because we lack staffing and supplies and time to do them all; and we use expert knowledge, however faulty, to make the selection. It's a constraint built into science. A similar kind of constraint applies to everything, including this kind of monitoring system. So many things to do, but resources are finite.

Worse yet, this happened in the Sunda Strait. It's a narrow opening between two islands, between the Indian Ocean and the Java Sea (a map tells me).

Anak Krakatau is in the Sunda Strait.

Even if there were an early warning system, it would have given them virtually no time to do much of anything but say, "Huh? What's that? Oh. Maybe we should send out an alert. Look up how to do that." To which the response would be, "Okay, I figured out how to send out an alert. But we'd just be telling people that the tsunami's already hit. That seems like a waste of time. Should we notify authorities of the problem now?"

[NJCher]

25. aha

That's what I was thinking of (Aceh).

Your knowledge of these systems is quite impressive! Thanks for sharing.

[nitpicker]

18. Link to live update thread from The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2018/dec/23/indonesia-tsunami-dozens-dead-hundreds-injured-after-anak-krakatoa-erupts

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. Death toll now 168; 745 injured

https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-tsunami/krakatau-triggered-tsunami-kills-at-least-168-in-indonesia-media-idUKKCN1OL0P2

[Cold War Spook]

27. If you are looking for it on a map,

don't go by the movie titled "Krakatoa East of Java". It is actually West of Java.

[Eugene]

29. Krakatau volcano partial collapse triggered Indonesia tsunami: officials

Source: Reuters

WORLD NEWS DECEMBER 23, 2018 / 9:42 PM / UPDATED 7 MINUTES AGO

Krakatau volcano partial collapse triggered Indonesia tsunami: officials

Praveen Menon, Charlotte Greenfield
4 MIN READ

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A large chunk of a flank of the volcanic Anak Krakatau island slipped into the ocean and triggered a tsunami that hit Indonesian shores, killing hundreds of people, officials and scientists said on Monday.

At least 281 people were killed, hundreds injured and many buildings were heavily damaged when the tsunami struck, almost without warning, along the rim of the Sunda Strait, between Java and Sumatra islands, late on Saturday.

Anak Krakatau had been spewing ash and lava for months before a 64-hectare (0.64 square km) section of the southwest side of the volcano collapsed, an Indonesian official said.

“This caused an underwater landslide and eventually caused the tsunami,” said Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the meteorological agency, adding that the waves hit shorelines 24 minutes later.

Images captured by the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1 satellite showed that a large portion on the southern flank of the volcano slid off into the ocean, scientists said.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-tsunami-science/krakatau-volcano-partial-collapse-triggered-indonesia-tsunami-officials-idUSKCN1ON034

[muriel_volestrangler]

30. At least 373 dead, 128 missing, 1,459 injured

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-46674490