Visual Scars of the Tsunami-Stricken Carita Beach

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Structures that used to stand tall across the coastline of Carita Beach in Banten are now left in rubbles after the area that was packed with holidaymakers was struck by the devastating Sunda Strait tsunami on Saturday evening of December 22.

Hotels, villas, and numerous tourist spots in the Carita Beach that used to be the main destination for nearby holidaymakers could no longer be identified. An abundance of deserted cars and motorcycles destroyed and swept by the tsunami has become a usual sight.

“Carita is one of the worst affected areas,” said the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho in his written statement on Sunday, December 23.

This beach used to be the main tourist attraction for those visiting Pandeglang, Banten. It has always been the most popular tourist site in the weekends prior to the tsunami.

Carita Beach once experienced a decline in visitation after the devastating 2004 Aceh tsunami, however, the area was able to recover as time passed which eventually made the area be packed again with tourists.

The clear waters of Carita beach that directly heads to the Sunda Strait could no longer be enjoyed. It is replaced by a murky chocolate sea with a view of the Mount Anak Krakatau at the distance. The fear of another potentially oncoming tsunami was far too real and felt by a Tempo journalist who explored the shores during a report.

DEWI NURITA