Unlike other tsunamis that have hit disaster-prone Indonesia following large earthquakes, Saturday's big waves blasted ashore at night without warning.
Panicked
residents, police and soldiers in this remote fishing village
clobbered by a devastating weekend tsunami
ran to higher ground Tuesday, shouting "Water is coming! Water
is coming!" and reciting verses from the Quran as emergency
messages were broadcast over mosque speakers.
It
proved to be a false alarm, but a similar frenzy broke out in Tanjung
Lesung, another tsunami-stricken area located hours away, as
unsettled survivors of the disaster remained traumatised by a tragedy
that killed more than 420 people and left thousands homeless.
Meanwhile,
Christmas celebrations were replaced by sombre prayers, as church
leaders called on Christians across Indonesia, the world's most
populous Muslim nation, to pray for tsunami victims.
Unlike
other tsunamis that have hit disaster-prone Indonesia
following large earthquakes, Saturday's big waves blasted ashore at
night without warning.
The
eruption of Anak Krakatau, or Child of Krakatoa, a volcano in the
Sunda Strait, is believed to have created a landslide on the
volcano's slope, displacing a large volume of water that slammed into
the islands of Java and Sumatra.
People
in Sumur village, which has been slow to receive aid due to roads
being cut off, remained stunned by how quickly the tsunami hit. The
beach, located just a few kilometers from the tourist island of Umang
near Java's western tip, is popular for snorkeling and other water
activities.
The
tsunami decimated the area, ripping houses from their foundations and
bulldozing concrete buildings.
Scientists
have said the tsunami's waves were recorded in several places at
about 1 metre (3.3 feet) high, but residents of Sumur insisted they
towered more than 3 metres (10 feet) there.
They
said a soaring white wall of water roared toward them at high speeds,
ripping trees out of the ground by their roots.
"There
was no sign of a tsunami when we were at the beach. The sea didn't
recede," said Tati Hayati, a housewife, who was enjoying a
pleasant evening with 10 other people when the disaster hit. "It
was calm and bright with the full moon."
When
she spotted high, fast-moving waves launching toward the shore, she
ran to her car and managed to get inside. But she couldn't outrun it.
She said the car was struck by three waves, breaking out the back
window and filling the vehicle with gushing water.
"We
were locked inside. The car was swaying in the waves and we thought
we would all die," Hayati said.
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