The tsunami that struck Indonesia’s Sunda Strait on Saturday night was the latest in a series of disasters in the vast archipelago nation this year.
Other tragedies have included earthquakes that flattened parts of the tourist island of Lombok, and an earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands on Sulawesi island. Nearly 200 people died when a Lion Air passenger plane crashed into the Java Sea in October.
Lombok earthquake
More than 100 people died when an earthquake devastated the tourist island of Lombok near Bali in August. Lombok had already been hit by a 6.4-magnitude quake on 29 July that killed 17 people and briefly stranded several hundred trekkers on the slopes of the volcano, Mount Rinjani.
Sulawesi and Sumatra ferry disasters
At least 31 people perished when a ferry travelling from Sulawesi to Selayar island sank in July. It came the day officials called off the search for 164 people presumed drowned when a wooden ferry sank on 18 June in a deep volcanic crater lake on the island of Sumatra.
Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami
In September an earthquake hit the area around Palu on the island of Sulawesi in northern Indonesia. The 7.5-magnitude earthquake spawned a tsunami and together the two natural disasters devastated the region reducing large parts of Palu and other towns to rubble. There were 170 aftershocks which hampered rescue efforts and it took days to mobilise heavy equipment to help the rescue effort on the island. The official death toll is more than 2,000 but it is feared this figure could finally rise to 5,000. Our correspondent Kate Lamb travelled to Sulawesi in the aftermath of the disaster and this is among her reports.
Lion Air crash
Almost 200 people died in October when Lion Air flight JT610 travelling from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang on the island of Bangka crashed into the sea a few minutes after leaving the capital city. Questions were raised about the reliability of the Boeing 737 Max 8 jet after reports that it flew erratically the previous day. An examination of the plane’s black box showed that it had experienced problems with its airspeed indicators on its previous four flights.
Sunda Strait tsunami
Officials fear the death toll from Saturday’s disaster could rise with at least 200 already dead and hundreds injured. Experts think the tsunami was caused by an eruption of the infamous Krakatoa volcano, which triggered landslides and set off the deadly wave. They also believe high tides at full moon may have played a part.
