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The eruption never stopped: Sebesi islanders recall horror of Sunda Strait tsunami
Despite living so close to the Anak Krakatau volcanic island, Sebesi islanders had little knowledge about disaster mitigation.
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Solihin, 37, stands amid the rubble of his house destroyed by the tsunami caused by the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau in the Sunda Strait in December 2018. Solihin has returned to his daily life as a fisherman, but his wife and three children no longer wish to live on the island and currently reside on mainland Sumatra. (JP/A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil)
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olihin, 37, lost almost everything when Mount Anak Krakatau erupted and caused a tsunami on Dec. 22, 2018, which swept the coastal areas of Lampung, Banten and small islands in the Sunda Strait.
His family of five survived, but he lost his fishing boat and his house, located only around 5 meters from the coast of Sebesi Island, a 2,620-hectare island with fewer than 3,000 residents.
The island is located around 20 kilometers from the volcano, and the remnants of the tsunami could still be seen when The Jakarta Post visited it on Wednesday, almost nine months after the disaster. Rubble of houses was still visible at the coast along with dead coral reefs.
Solihin, who had lived on the island since 1992, went about his day as usual on the day of the volcanic eruption and tsunami. He harvested his field in the morning and went fishing in the afternoon.
“I even fished a bit on my boat until [sunset]. I saw an eruption [from Anak Krakatau] that was stronger than usual,” Solihin told the Post.
Then at night just as his family was about to go to sleep, Solihin heard a commotion outside of his home and saw large waves heading to the island, and immediately told his family to leave.
Solihin fled on a motorcycle with his wife and infant daughter to a designated spot on the island for evacuation and stayed there as the waves swept his house. They stayed for two days, before moving to Kalianda, South Lampung.
