Indonesian Volcano Tsunami: Understanding first tsunami of this kind in over a century

World
Europe

02:46

Thousands of people in the town of Banten, Indonesia did not anticipate the powerful tsunami that washed over their town on Saturday night. Authorities are now beginning to understand what exactly caused that disaster. Indonesia hasn't experienced this kind of tsunami in over a century, since the last time Krakatau volcano erupted in 1883. CGTN's Silkina Ahluwalia has more from Jakarta.

It came without warning. Nobody had a clue that a 20 meter wave was heading towards the Indonesian town of Banten in West Java.

The main cause, Anak Krakatau. A volcano that emerged just less than 100 years ago. Locals say rumblings and eruptions are common occurrences. That's the reason why the recent eruption didn't strike them as suspicious.

The last eruption of Krakatau was at the same exact spot in 1883, 135 years ago. It generated big waves and killed hundreds of thousands of people.

RATDOMO PURBO GEOLOGY EXPERT, INDONESIAN ENERGY MINISTRY "We are still trying to figure what caused this new phenomenon. The activity of Krakatau itself didn't cause the landslide. We believe it is due to many factors. At the time the landslide took place, there were also heavy rain and volcanic tremors. All of those combined resulted in this powerful underwater landslide that caused the tsunami."

This new phenomenon is entirely different to the Indian Ocean tsunami that washed over Banda Aceh and many other Asian countries in 2004. Those waves were triggered by a magnitude-9 earthquake.

SILKINA AHLUWALIA JAKARTA, INDONESIA "Now, experts are trying to understand what happened below the sea surface as that volcano was erupting on Saturday. This might take time. The government would have to send out teams into the area frequently to do a proper survey. But right now, it's still too dangerous because another eruption could trigger a fresh tsunami."

Authorities have released yet another warning telling residents around the area to be cautious of waves that could reach up to 4 meters high.

JOKO SISWANTO REGIONAL HEAD, BMKG BANTEN "Our equipment at the earthquake and tsunami center needs to be updated and more advanced. We hope that in the future, we can give out warnings much faster, not just for tsunamis caused by tectonic movements but volcanic tremors too."

President Joko Widodo is now prioritizing warning centers to have high-quality equipments that can help to detect activities underwater to prepare themselves in case a tragedy of this scale happens again in the future.

Silkina Ahluwalia, CGTN, Banten, Indonesia.