Indonesia tsunami - live: Hundreds dead amid desperate search for missing, as survivors describe horror
'I was afraid I would die'
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Your support makes all the difference.A tsunami in Indonesia has killed at least 222 people and injured hundreds, following an underwater landslide caused by the eruption of island volcano Krakatoa.
Hundreds of buildings were “heavily damaged” when the tsunami struck the Sunda Strait and the nearby islands of Java and Sumatra late on Saturday. Thousands fled after the wave hit and it is unclear how many residents are missing.
Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said that the tsunami was exacerbated by an abnormally high tide, caused by the full moon. A tide warning remains in place through 25 December.
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Read our piece on the horrific moment a boyband was swept from stage by the tsunami:
Partygoers fled an end-of-year office gathering hosted by Indonesia's state utility company PLN after the tsunami hit.
Seven people at the party were killed and 89 are missing.
Coastal residents told local media that they did not see or feel any warning signs before the water hit.
But state officials claim that a warning siren went off in some areas.
The tsunami is likely to have been caused by an underwater landslide.
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The tsunami is just the latest in a string of disasters to strike Indonesia this year.
Successive earthquakes in 2018 flattened parts of the tourist island of Lombok and in September, an earthquake and tsunami killed thousands on the island of Sulawesi.
Hundreds of residents in the city of Bandar Lampung on southern Sumatra have taken refuge at the governor's office.
Alif, a resident who goes by one name, said that many people in the area were trying to find missing relatives.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo expressed his sympathy for all those affected but urged people to remain calm.
"My deep condolences to the victims in Banten and Lumpung provinces," he said.
"Hopefully, those who are left have patience."
The tsunami may have been caused when a big section of the Kraktoa volcano gave way.
Gegar Prasetya, co-founder of the Tsunami Research Centre in Indonesia, said such a collapse could have triggered the waves.
"Actually, the tsunami was not really big," said Mr Prasetya, who has closely studied Krakatoa.
"The problem is people always tend to build everything close to the shoreline."
A damaged vehicle is seen amid wreckage from buildings along Carita beach
At the popular resort area of Carita Beach some survivors appear lost.
Azki Kurniawan, 16, said he was at the Patra Comfort Hotel when people suddenly burst into the lobby yelling, "Sea water rising!"
He ran outside to try to reach his motorbike. By the time he exited the hotel, the parking lot was already flooded.
"Suddenly a 1m wave hit me," he said.
"I fell down, the water separated me from my bike. I was thrown into the fence of a building about 30m from the beach and held onto the fence as strong as I could, trying to resist the water, which feels like it would drag me back into the sea."
"I cried in fear. ... 'This is a tsunami?' I was afraid I would die."
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