KUPANG, Indonesia: Thousands of people fled their homes in panic on the Indonesian coast after hoax text messages spread warning them that a tsunami will hit the region, journalists and officials said yesterday.
“The possibility is that a tsunami may take place on June 7,” said part of a short telephone text message (SMS) that is widely circulating in various coastal areas of Nusa Tenggara province, local journalists said.
A check of several coastal districts in the province showed that thousands had left their homes on the coast in at least three districts to flee to higher grounds since Tuesday, they said.
In the Kodi subdistrict of West Sumba district, hundreds of people had fled away from the coast, the local subdistrict head, Bernard Pelle said.
“Rumours are running strong in the district that a tsunami will strike the region on June 7,” Pelle said.
The regional meteorology and geophysics office said that the SMS warning did not come from their office.
“Earthquakes and tsunami cannot be predicted and we have not issued such warning,” office head Rivai Marulak said.
However, most residents refused to return to their coastal home fearing if the rumour should come true, the journalist added.
JAKARTA: Angry residents in Indonesia’s Aceh province, the area hardest hit by the 2004 tsunami, disconnected part of a new early warning system after a false alarm sent panicky residents to the hills, officials said yesterday.
Three tsunami-warning sirens in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, and the surrounding areas went off accidentally on Monday for about 30 minutes, causing hundreds of residents to flee their homes and run for higher ground.
Many roads in the capital were clogged with people driving inland on motorbikes and cars.
Afterward, residents in Lhoknga district disabled an early warning siren by removing its fuses and keeping them to prevent another false alarm.
“They took away the fuses without telling us because they are still panicked and afraid,” said Hervina, an official with the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency in Banda Aceh.
“Partly, we can’t blame them or report them to police because they are still panicked with the false alarm that took place on Monday,” said Hervina, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name.
On December 26, 2004, a magnitude-9 earthquake off Aceh triggered a tsunami that killed 226,000 people in 12 Indian Ocean countries. the death toll in Aceh, which lies on the northern tip of Sumatra island, was 177,000.
After Monday’s false alarm, police used loudspeakers to urge people to return to their homes, saying it was caused by a mechanical problem.
“We are currently looking at the sirens and are trying to fix them,” Hervina said.–DPA |
