Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Baby tsunami kills more than 100 in Indonesia

A tsunami with waves up to 2m high triggered by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Java yesterday, has killed more than 100 people. From BBC:
One resident, Teti, said high waves had destroyed hotels in Pangandaran and thrown boats onto the beach.

"Waves suddenly came and we ran to the hills," she told local radio.

"Many small hotels were destroyed," she said. "Boats have been thrown into hotels."

Putu Suryawan, a Red Cross official in the area, said 105 people were believed to have been killed, with 148 injured and 127 still missing.

"Possibly this number could rise because many people are still missing," he told the Reuters news agency.
Survivors of the tsunami include a few expat Australians living in Java. They vow to rebuild the village they called home. From The Age:
"We all felt the quake, but the first we knew of the tsunami was a roar," he said.

"When we looked up, we saw fishing boats sort of jumping in the air out in the bay."

With close friend Andrew Warmbrunn from Melbourne and board supplier Lyal Mackintosh, Malligan said the trio grabbed wives and children "and headed for the hills".

"Boats were going down the street," Warmbrunn said.

"There were about six waves. The second was the biggest and the locals said it was as high as the point, I guess about four or five metres."
Update:

Bloomberg says that the death toll reaches 337. (Thanks Shy)
ChannelNewsAsia has a picture gallery of the tsunami. (Thanks GeekGod)

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