Indonesia Tsunami Death Toll up to 281

The tsunami which struck Indonesia on December 22 at 21:30 killed more than 280 local people, leaving around 1,000 injured and at least 28 missing. 

About 12,000 residents had to move to higher ground, with a high-tide warning extended to Wednesday.

Hundreds of homes and other buildings were heavily damaged when the tsunami, set off by an eruption of the Anak Krakatau volcano, hit late Saturday around the Sunda Strait.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, a spokesman at Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency, warned Sunday that more tsunamis were possible as long as the volcano remained active.

Sutopo raised the issue of Indonesia's outdated tsunami buoy network which he said hasn't worked properly since 2012.

"Vandalism, limited budget, technical damage resulted in no tsunami (alerts) at this time," he said on his official Twitter account.

Sutopo warned locals to stay away from the coast.

“People should not carry out activities on the beach and stay away from the coast for a while,” he told reporters.

Anak Krakatau erupted again on Sunday, spewing ash and smoke. 

By Thea Morrison           

Photo source: AP