Deadly Volcanic Tsunami In Indonesia Has Claimed At Least 281 Lives So Far

The Jakarta Post reported that three-metre high waves had hit beaches of Lampung and Banten on Saturday night around 9.27pm.

As of 6am today, 24 December, Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) announced that, in addition to the 280 confirmed deaths, 897 people were injured and 35 are still missing.

CNN added that Anak Krakatau - which sits between the islands of Java and Sumatra - is known for one of history's most deadly eruptions, which killed 36,000 people in 1883.

BMKG added that the tsunami's impacts were compounded by a tidal wave caused by the full moon.

As news of the tsunami spread through social media, Indonesia's Meterology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) had initially denied that a tsunami occurred due to the absence of earthquake tremors, reported The Jakarta Post.

The Agency only confirmed that a tsunami had occurred at 3.55am on Sunday, and a press release was later published on the Agency's official Twitter account at 8.31am.

"We used to know that a tsunami happens after an earthquake. There was no quake last night (22 December)," BNPB head of public relations Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told CNN.

"That is why there was no warning."

More than 3,000 coastal residents have been forced to evacuate to higher ground while the warning is in place, reported Reuters.

Additionally, the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta has received no reports of Malaysians involved in the disaster as of this morning, New Straits Times reported.