Hundreds flee as high waves strike Indonesia coast

High waves lashed hundreds of homes in eastern Indonesia Thursday, forcing about 1,000 people to flee but causing no casualties, an official said yesterday.
"Some 250 houses along the coastline were hit this morning by three-metre high waves, leaving dozens destroyed," a senior official at Biboki Anleu, in East Nusa Tenggara province, told reporters.
He said that there was no reports of casualties so far but ongoing heavy downpours had hampered his teams' ability to complete site checks.
"At least 1,000 residents have fled their homes," he added.
High waves have been lashing Indonesia's eastern islands for the past week.
On Tuesday, two students drowned in a resort area south of Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara, when a three-metre (10-foot) wave swept to shore, their relatives said.