Tsunami Sets Off Panic In Southern Java
Mathias Hariyadi
The seaquake was set off by an earthquake that measured 7.2 on the Richter scale some 355 kilometres south of Jakarta at the bottom of the Indian Ocean.
A two-metre wave hit the coastal region near Cilacap, a tourist resort where state-owned Pertamina Oil Company has important facilities, and the beach town of Pangandaran, which is
State-owned TV was able to broadcast eyewitness accounts of the disaster from the affected area. Teddy, a survivor, said that “people panicked right away. Waves wiped out all the food stands and houses along the beach”.
In both resorts traffic is heavy and in one direction: out. People are fleeing for higher and safer ground leaving everything behind.
“Everyone ion Pangandaran is scared to death,” said Iwan, a local resident. “Hotels, bungalows, villas, bars have been swept away by the sea. People are running away unconcerned about their property, running for their lives.”
Today’s tsunami is a reminder of the December 26, 2004, tragedy that struck several countries around the Indian Ocean, especially Indonesia which suffered more than 140,000 dead.