Prayers mark first anniversary of Indonesia`s Java tsunami

Jakarta, NU Online
Thousands of Indonesians attended mass prayers held Tuesday on a south Java beach lashed by a deadly tsunami a year ago, police and officials said.

"Thousands of people are attending the mass prayers at the beach, causing major traffic jams on the roads leading there," said a police officer on duty in Pangandaran, a popular West Java beach resort that was one of the areas worst hit.<>

The event was organised by a community group, said an official from the local administration, which did not plan anything to mark the day.

"We (instead) have held a series of events leading to this day, such as a kite festival, a scooter jamboree, a local beauty pageant as well as musical performances," the official, Supari, told AFP.

Elsewhere on the coast, the memory of the tsunami tragedy appeared to have been buried deep and there were no celebrations or events held to mark the day.

Officials in Kebumen and Cilacap in neighbouring Central Java, which were also hit by the disaster, said the day passed quietly.

The tsunami was unleashed by a 7.7-magnitude undersea earthquake off Java.

It killed at least 596 people and displaced some 74,000, according to the national disaster agency.

The tragedy followed the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which claimed the lives of an estimated 168,000 Acehnese in Indonesia alone. (dar)