Grieving Java residents

A tsunami slammed into the southern coast of Java in Indonesia last July 17, killing hundreds and leaving thousands of others displaced.

A series of earthquakes, the strongest measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale triggered the tsunami that reached as high as four meters, the Jakarta Post reported.

The worse-hit area appears to be the idyllic Pangandaran resort town in West Java, where witnesses said hotels, restaurants and other buildings were destroyed by the waves.

People shouted "tsunami, tsunami" and ran for higher ground, while others crowded into mosques, apparently learning from the deadly tsunami in 2004, according to the Jakarta Post.

More than 130,000 people were killed in Indonesia in the December 2004 disaster.

Indonesia sits on the seismically active Pacific "Ring of Fire" and experiences frequent earthquakes. On May 27, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit near the city of Yogyakarta in Java, killing more than 5,800 people.

There is no early warning system yet in place and many residents in Java had no inkling of the tragedy to come.

Heff Martin, a 26-year-old Swiss office worker, said he and his fiancee had only moments to think and save their lives, Channel News Asia reported based on news wire accounts.

Martin said there were people screaming “the sea is coming, the sea is coming.”

A 26-year-old Frenchwoman was among the dead, according to a news wire report.

Two Swedish children aged between five and 10 years old were reported missing.

A resident said most of the dead in Pangandaran were children and teenagers.

Tsunami alerts were issued for parts of Indonesia and Australia but they did not reach the victims as no early warning system was in place.

While two sensor buoys had been installed on Sumatra, none were expected to be ready for Java for another two years.

Indonesian troops have arrived to help with the search for the missing and assist the hundreds of injured.

Photo from english.eastday.com