Indonesian official explains on tsunami warning
www.chinaview.cn 2006-07-20 14:21:03

A rescuer carries a baby victim in arms in the tsunami-hit Pangandaran, Indonesia, July 19, 2006. The death toll from a tsunami that hit west Java and Central Java provinces of Indonesia on Monday has surpassed 500, according to local authorities on Wednesday.
A rescuer carries a baby victim in arms in the tsunami-hit Pangandaran, Indonesia, July 19, 2006. The death toll from a tsunami that hit west Java and Central Java provinces of Indonesia on Monday has surpassed 500, according to local authorities on Wednesday. (Xinhua Photo)

    Among the fatalities and casualties, five foreign citizens were killed, one foreigner missing and nine others wounded, said an official in charge of the board named only Santi.

    She said that the five death were one Dutch, one Sweden, one Pakistan, and two Saudi Arabian, and the missing person was a French citizen, she said.

    The nine injured comprised two Dutch, one Japanese, one Austrian, three Saudi Arabian, and two French, said Santi, adding that most of them were tourists.

    The official said that over 5,756 people had been internally displaced and lived in refugee camps, including tents after the giant wave of three to four meters destroyed buildings and infrastructures.

    "The death was 525 and 273 still missing," Santi told Xinhua.

    In West Java, the worst hit area, the disaster covers districts of Ciamis, Garut, Cianjur, Sukabumi and Tasik Malaya. In Central Java it hit Cilacap, Kebumen and Banyumas and in Yogyakarta province Gunung Kidul and Bantul, according to Indonesian Red Cross.

    The Red Cross said that the aids had been underway and rescue teams were searching those missing.

    The quake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale triggered tsunami,hit the provinces on Monday at 3:19 p.m. local time.

    Indonesia lies in a zone known as the Pacific "ring of fire", which is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity. Enditem

Editor: Lin Li
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