Java Tsunami (ndc)
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JAKARTA (Reuters) - A tsunami triggered by a strong undersea earthquake off
the southern coast of Java island swept away buildings at an Indonesian
beach resort on Monday and killed between 40 and 50 people, a Red Cross
official said.
News of the disaster spread panic across a region still recovering from a
tsunami less than two years ago that left nearly 230,000 people killed or
missing, mostly in Indonesia. But there were no reports of casualties or
damage in any other country from Monday's tsunami.
Waves up to 1.5 meters (five feet) high crashed into Pangandaran Beach near
Indonesia's Ciamis town, 270 km (170 miles) southeast of Jakarta. A local
official said 37 people had been killed, and the toll could rise.
"We have evacuated 37 dead bodies. The number could grow because when we
went to the shore, rescuers were trying to evacuate more bodies," Rudi
Supriatna Bahro told Metro TV.
For the country as a whole, Robert Simatupang from the Indonesian Red Cross
told Reuters: "The data from our temporary assessment is fatalities at
around 40-50. The numbers who are still missing are just under 100."
"There are many areas where electricity and telecommunications cannot
function. It is quite hard now to reach the locations." he added.
Ciamis councilman Bahro said areas up to half a kilometer (550 yards) from
the beach were affected, with flimsily constructed buildings flattened.
"We need tents, food and medical aid for the displaced."
The country's official Antara news agency reported several deaths had also
occurred at two other beach resorts in Java.
"An earthquake has happened and then was followed by a tsunami on the
southern coast of Ciamis (regency)," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono earlier told reporters.
"... The search is still going on to find those who probably have been swept
away by the tsunami waves."
A tsunami warning for Java's southern coast and nearby Christmas Island was
issued by the U.S.-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Police on Christmas
Island, an Australian territory south of Indonesia, said there was no damage
there.
India also issued a warning for the Andaman and Nicobar islands, badly hit
by the 2004 tsunami, but officials said there was no real threat. The
Maldives, a low-lying chain of islands to the southwest of India, also
issued a warning.
A massive earthquake in December 2004 triggered a tsunami that left nearly
170,000 people killed or missing in Indonesia's Aceh province. Tens of
thousands died elsewhere, the majority in Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.
WASHED AWAY
Pangandaran, the area that appeared to receive the brunt of Monday's
tsunami, is a popular local tourist spot with many small hotels on the beach
and is close to a nature reserve.
The waves washed away wooden cottages and kiosks lining the shoreline facing
the Indian Ocean, witnesses said.
"When the waves came, I heard people screaming and then I heard something
like a plane about to crash nearby and I just ran," Uli Sutarli, a
plantation worker who was on Pangandaran beach, told Reuters by telephone.
"All wooden structures are flattened to the ground but hotel buildings made
out of concrete are still standing. There is rubbish everywhere," he added.
Hendri Subakti, head seismologist at the West Java earthquake center, said
the waves were a maximum of 1.5 metres high, although some witnesses talked
of waves up to 5 meters.
Some people were still fleeing the coastal area hours later as rumors spread
that there could be another quake and tsunami.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had said the quake, which hit at 0819
GMT, was of 7.2 magnitude.
Indonesia's state meteorology and geophysics agency initially rated the
quake at 5.5 magnitude, but later changed that to 6.8, and said there were
two significant aftershocks.
An official at the country's main fixed line operator, Telkom, said the
phone system in the area was down.
Some occupants of high-rise Jakarta buildings felt the quake, which hit more
than 40 km under the Indian Ocean and was centered 180 km off Pangandaran
beach, and fled their offices.
Earthquakes are frequent in Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous
country. In May, an earthquake near the central Java city of Yogyakarta
killed more than 5,700 people.
Indonesia's 17,000 islands sprawl along a belt of intense volcanic and
seismic activity, part of what is called the "Pacific Ring of Fire."
(With additional reporting by Muklis Ali, Diyan Jari, Muhamad Ari and Yoga
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