JAKARTA, Indonesia (Update 2; 4:41 p.m.) — A tsunami following a volcanic eruption killed at least 168 people when it slammed without warning into popular beaches around Indonesia's Sunda Strait on Saturday night, cutting a swathe of destruction and triggering mass panic as it swept inland. Images of the aftermath of the tsunami in coastal areas showed a trail of uprooted trees and debris strewn across beaches. "The combination caused a sudden tsunami that hit the coast," Nugroho said, but added that Indonesia's geological agency was working to ascertain exactly how it happened. Most recently in the city of Palu on Sulawesi island a quake and tsunami in September killed thousands of people. On December 26, 2004 a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.3 undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in western Indonesia killed 220,000 people in countries around the Indian Ocean, including 168,000 in Indonesia.

Source: Philippine Star December 23, 2018 02:17 UTC