Number of injured in Indonesia tsunami surges to over 14,000

In this Monday, Dec. 24, 2018, file photo, people inspect the damage at a tsunami-ravaged village in Sumur, Indonesia. The region was hit by a deadly tsunami that smashed into beachside buildings along an Indonesian strait - AP Photo

JAKARTA (Bernama): 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 (Dec 28), as search and rescue operations continue.

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.

China's Xinhua News Agency reports spokesman of national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho as saying 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 evacuees keep rising," Sutopo told Xinhua in a text message on Monday (Dec 31).

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 brought down the height of the volcano to 110 meters from 338 meters, volcanologists said.

The tsunami rattled 312.75 kilometres 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 nation home to 17,500 islands and which sits on a vulnerable quake-hit zone so called "the Pacific Ring of Fire". - Bernama