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Indonesia: What caused the Sunda Strait tsunami?
By Karina M. Tehusijarana
Questions still abound about what caused the tsunami that hit beaches in Lampung and Banten on Saturday night, killing at least 168 and injuring 750.
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Tsunami expert Ahmad Muhari said there were two possible causes of the tsunami: a landslide caused by the Anak Krakatau eruption or a sudden change in meteorological conditions, but added that both theories had their limitations.
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“If the tsunami was caused by a landslide from the eruption, we would expect the four stations to record the waves at around the same time, but the tide gauge at Panjang Port in Lampung recorded it significantly later than the other stations,” he said, adding that the three islands surrounding Anak Krakatau should have blocked any waves resulting from an eruption.
Meteorological factors could have also caused the tsunami, Ahmad said, but BMKG data do not show any sign of sudden changes in air pressure that would be required to trigger such a “meteo-tsunami.”
“But the data does show that there were very high wind speeds and this could have combined with the landslide to exacerbate the size of the tsunami,” he said.
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