Indonesian residents return home after fleeing their houses when a tsunami struck Anyer beach. (Photo: VNA)Jakarta (VNA) – Thousands of villagers who fled their homes when atsunami struck Anyer beach, Indonesia’s Banten province on December 22 havereturned home to repair houses and stabilise life.
The National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) on December 25 announced thetsunami in Sunda Strait as a local catastrophe, and affirmed that localauthorities are able to deal with the disaster’s impacts.
The agency has set a 14-day emergency response period for Banten province, fromDecember 22, 2018 to January 4, 2019 while Lampung province will have sevendays, from December 23-29. The two localities were the worst-hit areas.
With support from the government, local authorities are mobilising all forcesto recover from the natural disaster, including police, search and rescueforces, BNBP and Red Cross organisation.
By December 25 noon, the death toll following the tsunami caused by the AnakKrakatau volcano in the country rose to 429 people. About 1,485 people wereinjured and 154 are still missing while more than 16,000 people have beendisplaced.
The waves destroyed 882 houses, 73 villas and hotels, 60 restaurants andhundreds of boats, motor bikes and cars.
Indonesia, one of the most disaster-prone nations on earth, straddles theso-called Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide and alarge portion of the world’s volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. AnakKrakatau is one of 127 active volcanoes which run the length of thearchipelago.
Most recently, a quake and tsunami killed thousands of people in the city ofPalu on Sulawesi island in September.
In 2004, a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.3 undersea earthquake off thecoast of Sumatra in western Indonesia killed 220,000 people in countries aroundthe Indian Ocean, including 168,000 in Indonesia.-VNA
VNA
