KUALA LUMPUR: To date, no Malaysians were reported to have been affected in the deadly tsunami which struck South Sumatra and the western tip of Java today.
The Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta, confirming this, said they have yet to receive any word of Malaysians being involved in the incident.
“The tsunami has left at least 43 dead and almost 500 people injured. For now, no reports have been received on Malaysians being involved.
“The embassy will continue to closely monitor the situation and disseminate information,” it said in a statement.
It said those seeking aid from the consulate can contact the officer in charge at +62 813 80813036.
At least 43 people have been killed and nearly 600 injured in the tsunami in Indonesia, which authorities said may have been caused by a volcano known as the ‘child’ of the legendary Krakatoa.
The death toll is expected to increase.
Hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the wave, which hit beaches without warning in South Sumatra and the western tip of Java about 9.30 pm local time (1430 GMT) on Saturday, said a spokesman for Indonesia’s national disaster agency.
At least 43 people died and 584 people were injured across three regions.
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.
The wave swamped parts of the coast around the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra island, but was most damaging in Pandeglang district, on Java's western tip, where 33 people died and 491 people were injured.
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.
Most recently in the city of Palu on Sulawesi island a quake and tsunami killed thousands of people.
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.
Anak Krakatoa is one of 127 active volcanoes which run the length of the archipelago.