JAKARTA: A tsunami killed at least 222 people and injured hundreds on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra following an underwater landslide believed to have been caused by the erupting Anak Krakatau volcano, officials said.
Indonesia sits on the geologically active Pacific Ring of Fire and is regularly hit by earthquakes. Here are some of the major quakes and tsunamis in recent years:
2004
A massive 9.1 magnitude quake on the western coast of Indonesia’s Aceh province in northern Sumatra on Dec. 26 triggered a tsunami that struck 14 countries, killing 226,000 people along the Indian Ocean coastline, more than half of them in Aceh.
2005
A series of strong quakes hit the western coast of Sumatra in late March and early April. Hundreds died in Nias Island, off the coast of Sumatra.
2006
A shallow quake rocked the area around ancient royal city of Yogyakarta in Java killing at least 5,500 and destroying or damaging 150,000 homes.
2006
A 6.8 magnitude quake hit south of Java, Indonesia’s most populated island, triggering a tsunami that smashed into the southern coast, killing nearly 700 people.
2009
A 7.6 magnitude quake struck near the city of Padang, capital of West Sumatra province. More than 1,100 people were killed.
2010
A 7.5 magnitude quake hit one of the Mentawai islands, off Sumatra, triggering a tsunami of up to 10 metres that destroyed dozens of villages and killed around 300 people.
2016
A shallow quake hit the Pidie Jaya regency in Aceh, causing destruction and panic as people were reminded by the devastation of the deadly 2004 quake and tsunami. No tsunami was triggered, but more than 100 were killed by fallen buildings.
2018
Major quakes hit Indonesia’s tourist island of Lombok, killing more than 500 people, mostly on the northern side of the island.
2018
More than 2,000 people were killed by a powerful earthquake and tsunami that hit the city of Palu, on the west coast of Sulawesi island.
Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2018