Indonesian tsunami : Death toll rises to 281

The death toll from the Indonesian tsunami has risen to 281 and 1016 people have been injured while 57 are missing and more than 11,000 displaced according to new figures released on Monday.

The hardest hit areas include Carita and Tanjung Lesung, both popular tourist destinations, on the island of Java, and Lampung on the island of Sumatra.

Heavy rain battered The Javanese coastline overnight and on into Monday morning, making conditions more difficult for the rescue workers, police and army who are pouring into the disaster zone.

The spokesman for disaster agency BNPB, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, warned on Monday that, "People should stay away from the beaches" because of the risk of another tsunami.

A violent eruption by the Anak Krakatoa volcano at about 9pm on Saturday night is thought to have triggered an underwater landslide that in turn triggered the tsunami about 30 minutes later.

Anak Krakatoa, or the "child of Krakatoa" has been erupting intermittently for months and there is a chance that another eruption could trigger another tsunami in the area.

Sutopo added that Indonesian authorities were sending more heavy machinery as what had been sent already was not sufficient to deal with the massive destruction.

Heavy equipment was deployed, some from Jakarta about three hours away, to help the excavation.

Indonesia has endured a dreadful year already in terms of natural disasters, with the resort island of Lombok hard hit by a series of earthquakes in August.

The Sulawesi city of Palu was then smashed by an earthquake and tsunami in late September.

President Joko Widodo is expected to visit the disaster zone, which is just over 100km from the capital of Jakarta, later on Monday.