JAKARTA — The number of injured in the volcano-triggered tsunami along the coast of Sunda Strait in Indonesia jumped significantly to 14,059 from 7,202 reported last Friday, as search and rescue operations continued, the country’s disaster management agency said on Monday.
The tsunami on Dec. 22, triggered by the eruption of Anak Krakatau volcano and the ensuing underwater landslide, also destroyed 2,752 houses and 510 ships, said spokesman of national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.
Search and rescue operations continued as many were believed to remain missing in the provinces of Banten and Lampung, with the emergency status being extended.
Over 2,000 soldiers and police, along with personnel of search and rescue office and disaster management agency office, as well as volunteers, were involved in the search mission and emergency relief work, Sutopo added.
Emergency status in Lampung Selatan district of Lampung province has been extended for one week since Dec. 29, said Sutopo.
“It is because many victims remain missing. Besides, the damages, and the number of evacuee keep rising,” Sutopo told Xinhua in a text message.
The official said the death toll remained unchanged at 437 and the total number of displaced persons was put lower to 33,719, after reaching a peak of 40,386 on Friday.
Pandeglang district of Banten province was the worst hit area, said Sutopo, adding that giant waves also destructed Serang district of the province, and the districts of Panawaraan, Lampung Selatan and Tenggamus of Lampung province.
The strong eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano from Dec. 24 to 27 ratcheted down a total of 150 to 180 million cubic meters of its volume to 40 to 70 cubic meters, according to volcanologists. The height of the volcano also came down to 110 meters from 338 meters, they said.
The tsunami rattled 312.75 km of coastal area of the strait, according to the meteorology and geophysics agency.
Volcanologists said the volcano has been in a state of “strombolian” eruption since July, meaning that the volcanic activity produced frequent moderate eruptions.
The Anak Krakatau volcano, or Child of Krakatoa volcano in English, is one of the 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, a vast archipelagic nation home to 17,500 islands and sits on a vulnerable quake-hit zone so called “the Pacific Ring of Fire.” Xinhua/RSS
