By Dandy Koswaraputra</p> <p>JAKARTA, Indonesia (AA) – The death toll from Saturday’s tsunami on Indonesia’s Sunda Strait has risen to 281, the national disaster agency said on Monday.</p> <p>Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of the National Disaster Management Agency, said in a statement that the number of injured topped 1,016 in the tsunami — likely to be triggered by a volcanic eruption.</p> <p>A least 57 people are still missing, Nugroho said, adding 611 houses and many buildings were damaged after the tsunami — which mostly affected the Pandenglang, South Lampung and Serang areas.</p> <p>"In Pandeglang district, 207 people died, 755 people were injured, 7 people were missing, and 11,453 people were displaced,” said the statement.</p> <p>Most of the victims were found at Mutiara Hotel Carita Cottage, Tanjung Lesung Hotel and Sambolo Village, it added.</p> <p>"In Serang District, 12 people died, 30 people were injured and 28 people were missing,”it added.</p> <p>The tsunami also damaged some 70 hotels and villas, 60 food stalls and shops, 350 boats and ships, and 71 vehicles.</p> <p>The coastal areas along the Carita Beach, Panimbang Beach, Teluk Lada Beach, Sumur Beach, and Tanjung Lesung Beach were severely damaged, according to the agency official.</p> <p>In an earlier statement, Nugroho said that the death toll may still increase as not all affected areas were recorded.</p> <p>Emergency teams were dispatched to the disaster-hit area while heavy equipment was also deployed to assist evacuation and emergency repairs, Nugroho said. </p> <p>According to Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency, the tsunami could have been triggered by undersea landslides after the eruption of Anak Krakatau.</p> <p>The agency said the tsunami struck around 24 minutes after the volcanic eruption. </p> <p>Indonesia lies within the Pacific Ocean’s "Ring of Fire" where tectonic plates collide and cause frequent seismic and volcanic activity.</p> <p>Last September, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake had struck the country's Sulawesi Island, which triggered a tsunami in the cities of Donggala and Palu that towered up to 10 feet (3 meters) high, killing over 2,000 people.
On Dec. 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake struck the eastern coast of Sumatra, triggering a tsunami that killed around 230,000 people as it tore along the coasts of Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.
