Death toll from Indonesia tsunami climbs to 373

Ruins in Carita, Banten province of Indonesia following the tsunami on December 22 (Photo: Yonhap/VNA)

Disaster mitigation agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that 1,459 people were reported as injured in Java and Sumatra islands while 128 others were missing in the disaster.

Meanwhile, experts warned that another tsunami could strike Indonesia. 

The tsunami, which came after a volcanic eruption, hit beaches in South Sumatra and the western tip of Java at about 9.30 pm local time on December 22. It caused severe impacts to areas surrounding the Sunda Strait, including beaches in Pangegland, Serang and South Lampung. 

Authorities say the tsunami may have been triggered by an abnormal tidal surge due to a new moon and an underwater landslide following the eruption of Anak Krakatoa, which forms a small island in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. 

Indonesia, one of the most disaster-prone nations on earth, straddles the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire", where tectonic plates collide and a large portion of the world’s volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. Anak Krakatau is one of 127 active volcanoes which run the length of the archipelago.

Most recently, a quake and tsunami killed thousands of people in the city of Palu on Sulawesi island in September.

In 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./.

VNA