PANDEGLANG (Indonesia), Dec 23 — A tsunami killed at least 222 people and injured hundreds on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra following an underwater landslide believed caused by the erupting Anak Krakatau volcano, officials and media said today.

Hundreds of homes and other buildings were "heavily damaged" when the tsunami struck, almost without warning, along the rim of the Sunda Strait late on yesterday, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the disaster mitigation agency, said.

Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate to higher ground. By 1040 GMT, the disaster agency had raised the death toll to 222 from 168, with 843 injured and 28 missing.

TV images showed the seconds when the tsunami hit the beach and residential areas in Pandeglang on Java island, dragging with it victims, debris, and large chunks of wood and metal.

Coastal residents reported not seeing or feeling any warning signs, such as receding water or an earthquake, before waves of 2-3 metres washed ashore, according to media.

Authorities said a warning siren went off in some areas.

The timing of the tsunami, over the Christmas holiday season, evoked memories of the Indian Ocean tsunami triggered by an earthquake on Dec. 26 in 2004, which killed 226,000 people in 14 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.

Øystein Lund Andersen, a Norwegian holidaymaker, was in Anyer town with his family when Saturday's tsunami struck.

"I had to run, as the wave passed the beach and landed 15-20 metres inland. Next wave entered the hotel area where I was staying and downed cars on the road behind it," he said on Facebook. "Managed to evacuate with my family to higher ground through forest paths and villages, where we are taken care of by the locals."

Authorities warned residents and tourists in coastal areas around the Sunda Strait to stay away from beaches and a high-tide warning remained in place through until Dec. 25.

"Those who have evacuated, please do not return yet," said Rahmat Triyono, an official at the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

President Joko Widodo, who is running for re-election in April, said on Twitter that he had "ordered all relevant government agencies to immediately take emergency response steps, find victims and care for the injured".

Vice President Jusuf Kalla told a news conference the death toll would "likely increase".

Yesterday's tsunami was the latest in a series of tragedies that have struck Indonesia, a vast archipelago, this year.

Successive earthquakes flattened parts of the tourist island of Lombok, and a double quake-and-tsunami killed thousands on Sulawesi island. Nearly 200 people died when a Lion Air passenger plane crashed into the Java Sea in October.

Rescue workers and ambulances were finding it difficult to reach affected areas because some roads were blocked by debris from damaged houses, overturned cars and fallen trees.

The western coast of Banten province in Java was the worst-hit area, Nugroho told reporters in Yogyakarta. He said at least 35 people were reported dead in Lampung in southern Sumatra.

The waves washed away an outdoor stage where a local rock band was performing in Tanjung Lesung in Banten province, a popular tourist getaway not far from the capital, Jakarta, killing at least one musician. Others were missing.

Around 250 employees of the state utility company PLN had gathered in Tanjung Lesung for an end-of-year event, company spokesman I Made Suprateka told Reuters. At least seven people were killed, and around 89 are missing, he said.

Dramatic TV footage showed the seconds when the tsunami hit a concert at the event and washed away the stage where the band, Seventeen, was performing.

"The water washed away the stage which was located very close to the sea," the band said in a statement. "The water rose and dragged away everyone at the location. We have lost loved ones, including our bassist and manager ... and others are missing."

Police officers rescued a young boy who was trapped in a car buried under fallen trees and rubble, according to a video of his rescue posted on Twitter by the Indonesian National Police, who did not give any information as to the boy’s identity.

Officials were trying to determine the exact cause of the disaster.

Anak Krakatau, an active volcano roughly halfway between Java and Sumatra, has been spewing ash and lava for months. It erupted again just after 9 p.m. yesterday and the tsunami struck at around 9.30 p.m., according to BMKG.

The tsunami was caused by "an undersea landslide resulting from volcanic activity on Anak Krakatau" and was exacerbated by abnormally high tide because of the full moon, Nugroho said.

Ben van der Pluijm, an earthquake geologist and a professor in the University of Michigan, said the tsunami may have been caused by a "partial collapse" of Anak Krakatau.

"Instability of the slope of an active volcano can create a rock slide that moves a large volume of water, creating local tsunami waves that can be very powerful. This is like suddenly dropping a bag of sand in a tub filled with water," he said.

The eruption of Krakatau, previously known as Krakatoa, in 1883 killed more than 36,000 people in a series of tsunamis.

Anak Krakatau is the island that emerged from the area once occupied by Krakatau, which was destroyed in 1883. It first appeared in 1927 and has been growing ever since.

Neighbouring Malaysia and Australia both said they were ready to provide assistance if needed. — Reuters</s>Indonesia's disaster agency says tsunami death toll climbs to 222, with 843 injured and 28 missing

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia's disaster agency says tsunami death toll climbs to 222, with 843 injured and 28 missing.</s>Indonesia's disaster agency says at least 168 dead, 745 injured and 30 missing in Saturday night's tsunami

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia's disaster agency says at least 168 dead, 745 injured and 30 missing in Saturday night's tsunami.</s>Indonesia's disaster agency says at least 168 dead, 745 injured and 30 missing in Saturday night's tsunami

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia's disaster agency says at least 168 dead, 745 injured and 30 missing in Saturday night's tsunami.</s>Indonesia's disaster agency says at least 168 dead, 745 injured and 30 missing in Saturday night's tsunami

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia's disaster agency says at least 168 dead, 745 injured and 30 missing in Saturday night's tsunami.</s>A tsunami apparently caused by the eruption of an island volcano has killed at least 43 people after the waves hit the coast around Indonesia’s Sunda Strait.

Some 600 people have been reported injured when the tsunami hit on Saturday evening, sending a wall of water some 65ft inland and damaging hundreds of houses including hotels.

Scientists from Indonesia’s Meteorology and Geophysics agency said it could have been caused by undersea landslides from the eruption of Anak Krakatau, a volcanic island formed over years from the nearby Krakatau volcano.

They also cited tidal waves caused by the full moon.

“I had to run, as the wave passed the beach and landed 15-20m inland,” Norwegian Oystein Lund Andersen wrote on Facebook.

He said he was taking pictures of the volcano when he suddenly saw a big wave come towards him.

“Next wave entered the hotel area where I was staying and downed cars on the road behind it. Managed to evacuate with my family to higher ground trough forest paths and villages, where we are taken care of (by) the locals. Were unharmed, thankfully.”

The worst affected area was the Pandeglang region of Banten province in Java, which encompasses the Ujung Kulon National Park and popular beaches, the Disaster Management Agency said.

Of the deaths, 33 were in Pandeglang.

In the city of Bandar Lampung on southern Sumatra, hundreds of residents took refuge at the governor’s office.

Alif, a resident in Pandeglang district who goes by one name, said the tsunami reached about 9.8ft high. He told MetroTV station that many people were still searching for missing relatives.

The Anak Krakatau volcano in the Sunda Strait that links the Indian Ocean and Java Sea erupted about 24 minutes before the tsunami, the geophysics agency said.

The 1,000ft-high volcano, about 124 miles south-west of capital Jakarta, has been erupting since June.

In July, authorities widened its no-go areas to 1.24 miles from the crater.

Footage posted by the head of the disaster agency showed the aftermath of flooded streets and an overturned car.

In September, more than 2,500 people were killed by a quake and tsunami that hit the city of Palu on the island of Sulawesi, which is just east of Borneo.</s>Indonesia's disaster agency says tsunami death toll climbs to 222, with 843 injured and 28 missing

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia's disaster agency says tsunami death toll climbs to 222, with 843 injured and 28 missing.</s>A tsunami killed at least 168 people and injured 745 on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra, a spokesperson for the disaster mitigation agency told media on Sunday.</s>Spokesman for Indonesia's disaster agency says tsunami death toll rises to 62 with 20 missing

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Spokesman for Indonesia's disaster agency says tsunami death toll rises to 62 with 20 missing.</s>Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Yuni was forced to run from the water

The death toll following the tsunami caused by the Anak Krakatau volcano in Indonesia has risen to at least 429, the disaster mitigation agency says.

On Saturday giant waves crashed into coastal towns on the islands of Sumatra and Java.

It is thought that volcanic activity set off undersea landslides which in turn generated the killer waves.

About 150 people are still missing, while more than 16,000 have been displaced, the agency says.

Coastal residents near the volcano have been warned to keep away from beaches amid fears it could trigger a new tsunami.

Anak Krakatau erupted again on Sunday, spewing ash and smoke.

Video shot from a charter plane captured the magnitude of the volcanic event in the Sunda Strait, between Sumatra and Java.

Rescue efforts are being hampered by blocked roads but heavy lifting equipment is being transported to badly hit areas to help search for victims.

What warning was given?

On Monday, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Agency told a news conference that another tsunami was a possibility because of the continued volcanic eruptions of Anak Krakatau.

"Recommendations from [the] Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency are that people should not carry out activities on the beach and stay away from the coast for a while," said spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

Image copyright Gallo Images/Orbital Horizon/Copernicus Sentin Image caption A satellite image of Anak Krakatau erupting in August

Anak Krakatau, which emerged in 1927 from the caldera that was formed during the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, has seen increased activity in recent months with people asked to avoid the area around its crater.

On Monday Mr Sutopo put out a series of tweets explaining why there was no early warning for this tsunami. He said that Indonesia's early warning system is set up to monitor earthquakes but not undersea landslides and volcanic eruptions, which can also generate deadly waves.

But, he added, with 13% of the world's volcanoes in Indonesia alone, it was crucial for the country to develop such system.

He confirmed there was no tsunami advance warning system on the night of the disaster, adding that because of lack of funds, vandalism to the buoys and technical faults there had been no operational tsunami warning system since 2012.

Geologist Raphaël Paris, whose 2012 study predicted the collapse of a flank of Anak Krakatau and a subsequent tsunami, said: "There is a big uncertainty on the stability of the volcanic cone now, and the probability for future collapses and tsunamis is perhaps non-negligible."

Why was Saturday's tsunami so deadly?

The tsunami struck at 21:30 local time (14:30 GMT) during a local holiday, with few of the warning signals that might have come had it been generated by an earthquake.

Seawater did not recede as it would with an earthquake tsunami. Experts say that even if there had been warning buoys near the volcano, there would have been minimal alert time.

Image copyright Social media Image caption Band Seventeen were performing on stage when the tsunami hit

The waves destroyed hundreds of buildings, sweeping away cars and uprooting trees in several popular tourist destinations, including the Tanjung Lesung beach resort, west Java.

Footage shared on social media showed a large wave crashing into a tent in the resort, in which popular Indonesian rock band Seventeen were performing.

Members of the band were seen being swept away as the wave destroyed the stage.

How did the tsunami happen?

By Jonathan Amos, BBC science correspondent

Everyone in the region will have been aware of Anak Krakatau, the volcano that emerged in the sea channel just less than 100 years ago. But its rumblings and eruptions have been described by local experts as relatively low-scale and semi-continuous.

In other words, it's been part of the background.

And yet it is well known that volcanoes have the capacity to generate big waves. The mechanism, as ever, is the displacement of a large volume of water.

The first satellite imagery returned after the event on Saturday points strongly to a collapse in the west-southwest flank of the volcano. This would have sent millions of tonnes of rocky debris into the sea, pushing out waves in all directions.

How common are tsunamis in Indonesia?

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Some residents in the Pandeglang region ran to a local mosque after the tsunami hit

Indonesia is prone to tsunamis because it lies on the Ring of Fire - the line of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that circles virtually the entire Pacific Rim.

In September, more than 2,000 people died when a powerful earthquake struck just off the central Indonesian island of Sulawesi, setting off a tsunami that engulfed the coastal city of Palu.

On 26 December 2004, a series of huge waves triggered by a powerful earthquake in the Indian Ocean killed about 228,000 people in 13 countries, mostly in Indonesia.

However, tsunamis caused by volcanic activity like this are less frequent.

Krakatoa (Krakatau in Indonesian)

Image copyright Oystein Lund Andersen

In August 1883, Krakatoa underwent one of the most violent volcanic eruptions in recorded history:

Massive tsunamis with waves of up to 41m killed more than 30,000 people

Thousands more were killed by hot ash

The eruptions were equivalent to 200 megatons of TNT - about 13,000 times the nuclear yield of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945

The eruptions were heard thousands of kilometres away

World temperatures dropped by more than 1C the following year

The volcanic island virtually disappeared

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The death toll following the tsunami caused by the Anak Krakatau volcano has risen to at least 429, according to Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency. Also, 1,459 people are injured, while 150 are still missing.