No SA casualties reported after deadly tsunami in Indonesia

South Africa has sent condolences to Indonesia following a deadly tsunami that struck coastal towns on the Sunda Strait on Saturday December 22 2018.

Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mabaya said: "The thoughts of the people of South Africa are with the people of Indonesia during this difficult period and the South African government extends its sympathy to those families who have lost loved ones."

The South African embassy in Jakarta reported no South African casualties.

The tsunami killed at least 222 people and injured hundreds on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra following an underwater landslide believed to have been caused by the erupting Anak Krakatau volcano, officials said on Sunday.

Hundreds of homes and other buildings were damaged when the tsunami struck, almost without warning, along the rim of the Sunda Strait late on Saturday, said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesperson for the disaster mitigation agency.

Thousands of residents were forced to evacuate to higher ground. By late afternoon on Sunday the disaster agency had raised the death toll to 222, with 843 injured and 28 missing.