Islanders evacuated after deadly tsunami in Indonesia

Nurmelis was watching TV on Saturday night in her home on Pulau Sebesi, one of the several small islands dotted around the Sunda Strait, located between the larger Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra, when the sea began to churn.

"I heard a wave crashing on the shore but it sounded louder than usual, so I went outside to take a look," the 38-year-old housewife told Al Jazeera.

"As soon as I saw the second wave coming, I knew it was a tsunami. So, I just turned and ran up to the mountains."

Fewer than 20km away from Pulau Sebesi, the latest eruption of Anak Krakatoa - an active volcanic island that has been spewing ash and lava for months - caused an underwater landslide that is widely believed to have set off a powerful tsunami.

Minutes after the landslide, the giant waves hit the coastlines of Banten and Lampung provinces, on Java and Sumatra respectively, killing more than 400 people and destroying hundreds of seaside houses, hotels and other local businesses.

In Pulau Sebesi, home to an estimated 3,000 people, Nurmelis and her 42-year-old husband Faisal were afraid to return home so they stayed in the mountain without food until Monday, when the Indonesian army and rescue workers arrived with food supplies.

On Tuesday, the couple were allowed briefly to go back home to collect some belongings before the army began the evacuation of local residents to Desa Cantik, a village port in South Lampung.

When Nurmelis and Faisal did so, they found that their house was filled with sand and rocks.

Asih, another Pulau Sebesi resident, was asleep at home when the tsunami hit on Saturday evening. She was awoken by the noise of the waves. "I grabbed my two-year-old daughter and ran," she said. "I didn't even lock my door."

Asih's mother, Rohaya, joined them to a mountainous area of the island where the two women made a rudimentary tent using a tarpaulin they found discarded in the jungle.

They also did not eat anything until Monday when the soldiers gave them rations of instant noodles which they had to cook using water provided from a thermos.

Courtesy : Aljazeera