Indonesia knows tsunami threat. But it was still blindsided by killer waves

The country has no way of detecting the kind of tsunami that scientists say was generated this past weekend

A 30-year-old fisherman was home watching television on Saturday evening when he heard a deep, booming noise offshore.

Living on the western coast of Java, the fisherman, Damin, was accustomed to the explosive sounds of the volcanic island, Anak Krakatau, which has erupted almost daily since June. But this time, its roar was unusually loud, he said Tuesday.

“We are used to hearing something like that but the sound was so big,” said Mr. Damin, who like many Indonesians uses one name. “It was different. It was like a bomb exploded.”

The sound turned out to be the only warning of killer waves,