Tsunami Strikes

last updated 8 January 2015

Java

An earthquake in the Indian Ocean this week launched a wall of water 6 feet high that crashed into the Indonesian coast. The tsunami wiped out coastal villages on Java, killing more than 300 people. Rescue workers found bodies lodged in treetops. Some 50,000 people were left homeless, and the government has appealed for international help. “I saw enormous waves engulf our beach and sweep away cars and boats,” said eyewitness Elan Jayalani. “All the villagers have fled to the jungle in the mountains. We’re living in caves.” Indonesia is particularly prone to earthquakes and tsunamis because it sits on a seismically active region of the Pacific known as the Ring of Fire. More than half of the 130,000 victims of the massive tsunami two years ago were Indonesians.