TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) commemorated the 74th anniversary of Indonesia's Independence Day on Saturday by carrying out a restoration program to assist victims of last year's Sunda Strait Tsunami in Sangiang Island, Serang District, Banten Province.

As part of the program, the PMI built a clean water facility; provided a health service; and distributed school kits, hygiene kits, baby kits, blankets and tarps to the local people, Head of PMI's Disaster Mitigation Division Arifin M Hadi said on Sunday.

"Local residents were engaged in the launching of this program," he said, adding that their engagement was expected to help them restore their spirit of rebuilding lives, and ease their painful experience.

This restoration program was part of the PMI's commitment to serving the tsunami victims starting from the phases of emergency response to recovery and restoration, he said.

Meanwhile, Head of the PMI headquarters in Serang District Abdul Basith said those living in Sangiang Island, a small island which is located around 10 miles from Anyer Beach, severely suffered from the impact of last year's earthquake and tsunami.

The disaster claimed five lives, including two tourists, and wounded many others, he said.

The Sunda Strait Tsunami, which struck certain coastal areas of the provinces of Banten and Lampung following the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau on Dec 22, 2018, killed 437 people and seriously affected the lives of several residents in the disaster zones.

The deadly tsunami that hit the districts of Pandeglang, Serang, South Lampung, Tenggamus, and Pesawaran also caused injuries to 7,202 others and forced 34,817 people to take refuge.

On August 2, 2019, a 6.9-magnitude earthquake again rocked Banten Province. The quake's epicenter was located at 7.54 degrees southern latitude and 104.58 degrees eastern longitude, at a depth of 10 kilometers (km) below sea level, and 147 km southwest of Sumur, or 164 km southwest of Pandeglang.

Situated on the Pacific ring of fire, Indonesia is prone to natural disasters, including earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Throughout 2018, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) recorded that Indonesia was hit by a total of 11,577 earthquakes, including several of them that caused serious casualties, with the number significantly increased as compared to that in 2017.

ANTARA