The death toll from a tsunami that hit the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra after the Anak Krakatau volcano erupted rose to at least 280 on Monday, officials said.
They added that rescuers are using heavy machinery and their bare hands to search for more victims.
Hundreds more were injured when the tsunami struck, almost without warning, along the rim of the Sunda Strait late on Saturday.
More than 3,000 coastal residents were forced to evacuate to higher ground, with a high-tide warning in place until Tuesday.
The vast archipelago, which sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, has suffered its worst annual death toll from disasters in more than a decade.
Earthquakes flattened parts of the tourist island of Lombok in July and August, and a double quake-and-tsunami killed more than 2,000 people on Sulawesi island in September.
Search and rescue officials used their bare hands and some heavy machinery to clear the remains of buildings on Monday. Government and…
