Indonesia tragedy: Reasons behind the deadly tsunami

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A tsunami has killed at least 281 people and injured hundreds on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. So what exactly happened in Indonesia's Sunda Strait last Saturday and why was there no warning issued? Our report tries to find some of the answers.

9:30 p.m., Tanjung Lesung beach, Indonesia. Within seconds, a beachside rock concert turned into a death trap. Dramatic footage shows large waves crashing into an outdoor stage. The concert by Indonesian band "seventeen" ended in tragedy. Two band members were killed, and three are still missing, including the wife of the lead singer.

There was no tsunami warning and there was no earthquake... So, what exactly happened?

Scientists believe that the tsunami, which occurred between Java and Sumatra islands, was caused by Anak Krakatau, an active volcano, which wreaked havoc on both islands.

Experts say there are two theories. Firstly, displacement of a large amount of water due to a spewing of molten lava and second, an underwater landslide.

A tsunami on December 22 has killed at least 281 people and injured hundreds on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. /VCG Photo

According to many geologists, a volcano eruption last Saturday may have sent millions of tons of debris into the sea, which in turn pushed out waves in all direction.

But some assert that waves were triggered by a landslide. So the second theory is that the volcanic eruption caused an underwater landslide, which displaced water and resulted in waves.

Dr. Simon Boxall, an oceanographer, said, "there's very little time to do much about it. Normally you'd have an earthquake. There's a warning because you've got an earthquake – in this case, there was no earthquake as such."

There was another reason which made this tsunami more lethal. It happened in the night and during high tide. Indonesia does not have any early warning system for tsunamis not caused by earthquakes. But scientists say even if buoys were installed near the volcano, it wouldn't have given much alert time.