HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE are dead and thousands have been displaced, after Indonesia was hammered by three major environmental catastrophes in the space of 24 hours.
An earthquake, a volcano and a powerful tsunami hit separate regions of the Indonesian archipelago over Monday and Tuesday.
Monday’s 7.7 magnitude undersea quake triggered a 10ft tsunami which killed at least 113 people and left up to 500 missing, reports The Guardian.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s most volatile volcano – Mount Merapi - erupted at least three times Tuesday, killing one person and iinjuring at least 20 – some severely. Thousands of residents have been forced to flee their homes to escape the plumes of white-hot ash.
A 2-month-old baby died as panicked villagers fled the area, according to local reports.
The Indonesian archipelago is located on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire - a series of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia. Over129 active volcanoes can be found across Indonesia’s 17,500 islands.
The fault that ruptured on Monday was the same one that caused the enormous 9.1-magnitude quake in 2004, leading to an horrific death toll of 23,000.
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