Tsunami early warning failed, says islanders
Thailand and Indonesia are continuing to count the cost of devastating natural disasters with floods, a tsunami in Sumatra and a volcanic eruption in Java causing deaths and destruction.
Aerial images from the tsunami-hit Mentawai Islands in Indonesia have revealed the extent of destruction, as officials raised the death toll to 311. More than 400 people are reported to be missing.
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake triggered the tsunami in western Sumatra two days ago.
Locals say they were given no indication of the coming wave because an early-warning system put in place after the devastating 2004 tsunami has stopped working.
Several Australian tourists were caught in the tsunami. One group of surfers survived after their boat was picked up by the wave and slammed into another.
Several hundred kilometres away on Java, another 29 people were killed when Indonesia’s ‘s most active volcano, Mount Merapi, erupted on Tuesday.


Officials said almost 42,000 people had fled to temporary shelters around the nearby city of Yogyakarta, but there were fears for the fate of thousands more who had refused to budge. 


In Thailand, after severe floods in central areas, the south of the country is now at risk given that a strong monsoon is hovering over the region and the Gulf of Thailand.
Some riverside areas of Bangkok are now flooded and officials are keeping a close eye on the city’s flood defences.
Ian Jarrett
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