CARITA: Asep
Sunaria heard a loud "whoosh" just seconds before a wall of water
threw him off his motorbike, swallowing his house and the village he called
home until Saturday night. As rescuers hunted for survivors of the
volcano-triggered tsunami that killed at least 281 people along Indonesia's
coast, 42-year-old Sunaria was trying to come to grips with a disaster that
struck without warning. "The water came from over there with a sound like
the wind-'whoosh'," he recounted to AFP. "I was shocked. I didn't
expect it at all-there was no warning ... At first I thought it was just a
tidal wave but the water rose so high."

He and his family
sprinted from Sukarame village to higher ground, leaving them with only the
clothes on their back. But they were among the lucky ones. Some villagers
perished when the powerful tsunami struck on Saturday night, sweeping over
popular beaches of southern Sumatra and the western tip of Java and inundating
tourist hotels and coastal settlements. Experts say it was likely triggered by
a massive underwater landslide following an eruption of the Anak Krakatoa
volcano in the Sunda Strait.

"My family
are safe but my house has been destroyed-everything's gone," said Sunaria.
"Now I'm looking for bodies that have not been found. We only found one
yesterday and we're looking for spots where more bodies could still be
buried." Another villager, Sunarti, waded through knee-deep water as she
searched for belongings outside her destroyed house. "We found two dead
bodies over there yesterday," the 61-year-old indicated. Sunarti said her
100-year-old mother survived and was staying at higher ground until they could
be sure there would be no more killer waves-something experts have warned
remains a serious risk.

"My life was
already tough," Sunarti, who like many Indonesians goes by one name said.
"We're very poor and now this happens" Down the road in Cilurah
village, survivor Ade Junaedi said he witnessed nature's fury firsthand.
"It happened very quickly," he said. "I was chatting with a
guest at our place when my wife opened the door and she suddenly let out a
panicked scream. I thought there was a fire, but when I walked to the door I
saw the water coming." Back in Sukarame village, Sunarti and her hungry
neighbors waited for outside aid to arrive in their stricken community.
"There's been no help at all so far," she said. "Some people are
starving."_ AFP