Huge waves continue to hit Indonesian coastlines

Jakarta, May 19: Massive waves that have damaged hundreds of homes and displaced thousands of people pounded Indonesia's coastlines for a third day today, forcing fishermen to stay on land and keeping tourists from the beaches.

One person was killed by the huge waves that began hitting coasts across the sprawling archipelago on Thursday and dozens of fishing boats were destroyed by the rushing waters that rose as high as 7 metres in some areas.

Weather officials say the waves are a result of the accumulation of winds in one spot and are not linked with annual weather patterns.

The waves receded to 1.5-2 metres in some parts today, but weather officials still warned fishermen against sailing in the Java Sea and forbade people from surfing on the popular Kuta beach in the tourist island of Bali.

''Today they (the waves) have decreased relatively. Our forecast for tomorrow is below 1.5 metres,'' Kukuh Ribudiyanto, an official at the national meteorology and geophysics agency, told Reuters.

However, the waves could rise up to 3 metres in the Indian Ocean near the western part of Java, the country's most densely populated island, he said.

The crashing waves that have struck all the way from Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra, which was hit by a monster tsunami in December 2004, to the resort island of Bali have triggered panic among residents in some parts.

Among the worst hit was Sukabumi regency in West Java where more than 600 people have fled from their homes.

Memories of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed some 170,000 people in Aceh alone are still fresh in the minds of many Indonesians.

REUTERS

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