Indonesia Hit by Another Tsunami; Dozens Dead and Missing

The Red Cross is reporting that a tsunami in Indonesia has left at least 69 people dead and even more missing. The quake was measured by the U.S. Geological Survey at magnitude 7.7, and it struck deep beneath the Indian Ocean off the western coast of Java. Although warnings of a possible tsunami were issued immediately, the island of Java has no warning system in place, so people living there did not get any bulletins about the earthquake or possible killer wave.

Many beach resorts and fishing villages line the coastline of Java. Witnesses said that when people saw the six-foot wall of water approaching, they yelled "Tsunami! Tsunami!" and began running. Some people climbed trees or fled in desperation to higher ground. Hundreds of people crowded into mosques farther inland. One witness said that people ran to a local hill to escape the wave on Pangandaran Beach, where "all the houses were destroyed along the beach."

Officials and witnesses have reported extensive damage to homes, restaurants, and hotels. One woman told reporters that she saw dozens of bodies piled up outside a local health clinic. The earthquake that caused the tsunami hit at 3:24 p.m. local time, triggering a tsunami warning from Java Island to Sumatra and Australia’s Cocos and Christmas Islands. The temblor caused tall buildings in Jakarta to sway for about two minutes, but the Indonesian capital escaped serious damage.

Indonesia was the country hit the hardest by the tsunami last fall, when nearly a quarter million people died, most of whom were living in Indonesia’s Aceh province. In May of 2006, a powerful 5.9 magnitude earthquake devastated a large portion of Java Island and killed nearly 6,000 people. Experts say the area is particularly prone to earthquakes because of its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a circle of volcanoes and fault lines that encircle the Pacific Basin.