24 December,2018 11:12 AM IST | | IANS
An Indonesian man searches for the body of a relative at a damaged house in Sukarame village in Carita, Banten province on December 24, 2018, two days after a tsunami - caused by activity at a volcano known as the "child" of Krakatoa - hit the west coast
The death toll in the devastating Sunda Strait tsunami has crossed 280 as of December 24, while authorities have sounded an alert as the Anak Krakatau volcano continues to erupt. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesperson for the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management BNPB tweeted that over 1,016 people have been injured while 57 are still missing due to the disaster which struck the region on the night of December 22.
Nugroho further said that 11,687 people have been displaced, while adding, "611 houses were damaged, 69 hotel-villas were damaged, 60 shops were damaged, & 420 boats were damaged." The spokesperson, while sounding an alert, mentioned that while Saturday night-s eruption is not the biggest, there still is a dangerous radius of two km from the top of the crater.
World leaders like US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have extended their condolences and reinforced their support for Indonesia. The tsunami struck tourist and residential areas on the night of December 22, after underwater landslides were triggered by a volcanic eruption according to Indonesia-s meteorological, climatological and geological agency.
The tsunami had struck 24 minutes after the volcanic eruption. "The Geological Agency detected at 21.03 local time the Anak Krakatau the volcano erupted," the agency said. "It-s possible the materials around Anak Krakatau collapsed to the sea and triggered the tsunami and affected beaches around Sunda Strait," it further mentioned. The death toll is expected to rise as rescue operations are underway.
