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Earthquake and Tsunami Hit Indonesia's Java Island, 86 Killed, Many Missing

Posted on: Monday, 17 July 2006, 18:00 CDT

By IRWAN FIRDAUST

CIAMIS, Indonesia (CP) - An earthquake sent a two-metre-high tsunami crashing into beach resorts on Java Island Monday, killing at least 86 people, leaving scores missing and sending thousands fleeing in an area spared by the devastating tsunami of 2004, officials, witnesses and media reports said.

It is not known if Canadians were among the dead or are missing at this point, a spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday.

The Canadian Embassy in Jakarta is in communication with local authorities in order to verify the situation, she said.

Indonesian regional agencies had issued bulletins that a 7.7-magnitude undersea earthquake was strong enough to send a killer wave steaming toward the country worst hit by the 2004 tsunami, but they did not reach the victims because the island has no warning system.

Thousands fled to higher ground along a 177-kilometre stretch of the densely populated island's southern coast. The hardest-hit area appeared to be Pangandaran, an idyllic beach resort long popular with local and foreign tourists, where witnesses said people shouted "Tsunami! Tsunami!" and climbed trees or crowded into inland mosques as the wave approached.

The Indonesian Red Cross, police and district officials said at least 82 people were killed, most in Pangandaran and nearby Cilacap. El-Shinta radio reported four other deaths.

"We are still evacuating areas and cross-checking data," Red Cross official Arifin Muhadi said. He said 77 people were missing.

At least one Swedish tourist at Pangandaran was being treated for injuries at a hospital and his two sons, five and 10, were missing, said Jan Janonius, a Swedish Foreign Ministry spokesman.

A witness told el-Shinta radio that he saw the ocean withdraw about 500 metres from the beach half an hour before the giant wave smashed to shore, a typical phenomena before a tsunami.

"I could see fish jumping around on the ocean floor," Miswan said. "Later I saw a wave like a black wall."

Local media reports said the wave came as far 270 metres inland in some places. Buildings sit close to the beach in Pangandaran and other coastal areas.

Roads were blocked and power cut to much of the area. Damage and casualties were reported at several spots along the 100 metres of beach affected, officials and media reports said.

"All the houses are destroyed along the beach," another woman, Teti, told the station. "Small hotels are completely destroyed and at least one restaurant was washed away."

Santi, a tourist at Pangandaran, said she saw about 20 bodies at a health clinic. Officials at the clinic could not immediately be reached for comment.

Indonesia has installed a warning system across much of Sumatra Island but not on Java Island.

Java was hit seven weeks ago by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 5,800 people, but was spared by the 2004 tsunami that killed 216,000 people, nearly half of them in Indonesia's Aceh province.

Monday's tsunami was spawned by an earthquake that struck deep beneath the Indian Ocean about 140 metres southwest of Java's western coast at 3:24 p.m., causing tall buildings to sway as far away as the capital, Jakarta.

The strength of the quake was revised upward from magnitude 7.1 after a review by a seismologist, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks.

Indonesian Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa said Monday he had heard reports about a tsunami striking two seaside towns, and urged people on Java's southern coast to move inland in an orderly fashion.

"Everyone should move from the beach," he told el-Shinta.

After the quake, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Cenre and Japan's Meteorological Agency issued warnings saying there could be a tsunami in the Indian Ocean. Later, waves measuring up to 18 centimetres were recorded on Bali island and near Australia's Coco Islands.

Indonesia is on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

Source: Canadian Press

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