The southern part of the Indonesian island of Java has been hit by a tsunami, which was set off Monday by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean about 240 kilometers southwest of the island’s west-coast. The quake measured 7.7 on the Richter Scale. As a result, the waves which hit the coastline were as tall as 2-3 meters. Two hotels and many houses and restaurants have been wrecked.
Among the tsunami-struck cities are Pangandaran, which is a popular tourist destination. At least 250 people are reported killed and at least 80 people are missing, according to the Indonesian Red Cross.
No Danes Involved
So far, Denmark’s Foreign Ministry has received no reports of Danish casualties nor has anyone been reported missing.
”We have no reports indicating that there are Danes in the area. We received a quick message from the embassy in Jakarta that they had felt the earthquake as far away as in the capital. There had been some big waves out there, but there are no reports of missing or hurt Danes,” special consultant in the Foreign Ministry’s Borgerservice (citizen service) Allan Sorensen tells the news agency Ritzau.
”However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any Danes in the area, we just haven’t heard from them,” he adds.
People Fled From the Beach
When the tsunami approached the shores of the city of Pangandaran on western Java, people ran for their lives, aiming for the local hilltops to avoid the waves, while some have sought refuge in the nearest tree, reports the news agency AP.
”We panicked and ran. Almost an entire village was flooded by water. All the people ran up towards the mountain,” a local villager reportedly told Metro TV.
Another local woman says that the waves reached several hundred meters into land from the Pangandaran beach near the city of Ciamis. Many restaurants, hotels and homes along the beach have reportedly been torn apart by the waves.
”Everything looks like chaos. The buildings by the southern coast are wrecked. Only permanent building still stand,” a local policeman tells Reuters.
