No tsunami warning system for Sunda Strait
by The Jakarta Post – Asia News Network
The Indonesian government says, following a “volcanic tsunami” in the Sunda Strait on Saturday evening, the country did not have any early warning system for tsunamis not caused by earthquakes, since 2012 when vandalism rendered the system inoperative.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman, says was no warning about the Sunda Strait tsunami because Indonesia did not yet have any early warning system for tsunamis caused by underwater landslides or volcanoes in the sea.
The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reports that the tsunami that happened on Saturday night was likely to have been caused by an underwater landslide caused by volcanic activity of Mount Anak Krakatau, combined with an unusually high tides because of the full moon.
The BMKG stated in a press release that a tsunami hit coastal areas of western Banten and southern Lampung at 9:27 p.m. Earlier on Saturday evening, the BMKG had said the event was not a tsunami but a “high tidal wave”.
The Jakarta Post reports that the coastal areas most severely affected by the tsunami were Pandeglang regency, Serang, and South Lampung. In Pandeglang regency, most casualties were reported at the Mutiara Carita Cottage Hotel, the Tanjung Lesung Hotel and Sambolo village.
“According to preliminary data, there are no foreign casualties, only Indonesians,” he said.
