2018 Sunda Strait tsunami — tsunami in coastal regions of Banten and Lampung, Indonesia
The 2018 Sunda Strait tsunami killed 426 people, making it the deadliest volcanic tsunami in Indonesia since the 1883 Krakatoa eruption.
Key Facts
- Death toll
- 426 deaths
- Date and time
- 22 December 2018, ~21:38 local time
- Trigger
- Flank collapse of Anak Krakatoa volcano
- Affected regions
- Banten and Lampung provinces, including Anyer
- Previous comparable event
- 1883 Krakatoa tsunami, same island
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Large portions of the southwestern flank of Anak Krakatoa collapsed into the volcano's caldera, triggering an underwater landslide. The event occurred at night during the Christmas and New Year holiday season, when many tourists were present along the coast, and no early warning system was in place to detect tsunami waves generated by volcanic or landslide activity.
At approximately 21:38 local time on 22 December 2018, the landslide-generated tsunami struck coastal areas of Banten and Lampung provinces in Indonesia, including the tourist resort of Anyer. The absence of warnings, darkness, and holiday crowds significantly worsened the human toll, resulting in 426 confirmed deaths.
Following the disaster, Indonesian authorities installed multiple emergency early warning systems in tsunami-prone areas. The upgraded infrastructure was designed to detect significant disturbances in water levels caused not only by earthquakes but also by volcanic activity and undersea landslides, addressing a critical gap exposed by the 2018 event.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 426 (other)