Yes, we are speaking about the 2004 Sumatra tragedy or 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, where the earthquake with a 9.1 magnitude had hit the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The incident took away lives of more than 227,000 people, reported dead or missing or presumed dead.

14 years have passed! But the ‘tsunami fear’ continues to haunt Indonesians even today, as evident in the most-recent tsunami tragedy on December 22, 2018, that claimed hundreds of lives, injuring thousands and leaving tens of thousands displaced.

The disaster claimed more than 400 lives so far, with around 1500 cases found severely injured and more than 15,000 displaced across villages on the Javan and Sumatran coasts, while dozens are still missing.

“Most survivors have been huddling in temporary shelters away from the shore, but have started to emerge to search for loved ones and assess damage to their property. Our teams are seeing many broken bones and broken homes, and people who are very shaken. Indonesians have withstood a string of disasters this year and with them, so much loss and misery,” says Arifin M. Hadi, head of disaster management at the Indonesian Red Cross.

Prior to the latest one, the country also suffered a severe tsunami in September 2018, which reported more than 2,000 casualties after a tsunami and earthquake hit western Sulawesi.

The country also saw a series of earthquakes in July and August months, in the northern Lombok region, witnessing the deaths of more than 400 people.

Indonesia Tsunami 2018

The tsunami on December 22, 2018 ,was the result of volcanic eruption that swept-off 158-acre chunk of Anak Krakatau into the ocean.

According to the reports, the volcanic eruption arrived at high tide during a full moon, with the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra witnessing a spell of heavy rainfall.

The tsunami has reportedly taken place amidst weak disaster response mechanism.

“This (tsunami) is caused by several factors. Our censors did not sound early warning because they are for tectonic activity not volcanic activity. That’s why we are in coordination with other agencies such as the maritime and geology agencies,” says BMKG chief Dwikorita Karnawati.

“We have developed a monitoring system focused specifically on the volcanic tremors at Anak Krakatau so that we can issue early warnings,” adds Dwikorita.

As the reports say, the disaster could continue or re-appear causing more damage. In this regard, the Indonesia Government cautioned its citizens of high alert asking everyone to remain alert as long as the volcano remains active.

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The 7.5 magnitude earthquake followed by nearly 10-ft-high tsunami waves shook the Indonesian island of Sulawesi leaving the city in distress.

While a total of 2.4 million people were affected by the disaster, nearly 844 are confirmed dead so far and 600 hospitalized, more than 48,000 people displaced, and thousands of homes destroyed.

“The Indonesian Red Cross is racing to help survivors, but we don’t know what they’ll find there. “I don’t think we’ve quite seen the worst of things yet,” says Jan Gelfand, Head, International Red Cross- Indonesia.

The reported number so far doesn’t still include the numbers from worst-hit zones such as Donggala and Balaroa region, which saw an entire housing estate home of 900 people sinking down into the ground.

While the authorities are worried about the disease outbreak because of decomposing dead bodies, teams began mass burying in the hills above Palu region to stop the disease spread. A 100-mt-long grave has reportedly been dug as part of preparatory measures to bury nearly 1000 bodies.

Meanwhile, nearly 1400 prisoners were found missing in local prisons.

Indonesia Government is currently welcoming international aid for the disaster hit victims and has so far received USD 1.7 million from Europe and USD 1 million from South Korea, while the Australian Government is holding discussions on ways to support the victims.

This quake came exactly weeks after the three massive earthquakes hit various islands in the South Pacific and Indonesia.

Indonesia Earthquake Images

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