Death Toll Up to 47 in Indonesia Tsunami

By CHRIS BRUMMITT

JAKARTA, Indonesia – A magnitude-7.7 earthquake triggered a 6-foot-high tsunami that crashed into beach resorts and fishing villages along Indonesia’s Java island Monday, killing at least 47 people, leaving scores missing and sending thousands fleeing to higher ground in terror, witnesses and officials said.

Regional agencies issued bulletins that an undersea earthquake was strong enough to send a killer waive hurtling toward Indonesia, the country worst hit by the 2004 tsunami. But the alerts did not reach the victims, because the island has no warning system.

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 inland mosques as the wave approached.

Rudi Bahro, a local lawmaker, told Metro TV at least 37 people were killed at Pangandaran and "the number is still going up,"

At least one person died in Puring Bay, some 60 miles to the east, said district chief Rustriningsih, adding that another 19 were missing.

Metro said nine people were killed in at least two other areas along the coast.