Transcript for Search for survivors after deadly tsunami hits Indonesia

There is a massive tragedy unfolding as well. We begin with that devastating tsunami, hit without warning over seas. A volcanic eruption triggering overseas and it could happen again. Here's what we know. 281 people now confirmed dead. More than 1,000 people injured and 57 people still missing. For rescue crews working around the clock, time is running out. ABC news senior foreign correspondent, Ian Pannell right there in Jakarta this morning. Ian, good morning to you. Reporter: Yeah. Good morning, Dan. Heartbreaking images emering from the devastating tsunami striking Indonesia. While there is an investigation under way, there are warnings it may happen again. Fears grow of yet another tsunami. The military of volunteers racing against the clock to find survivors, digging through the endless piles of debris for everyone trapped underneath. The grim sight of body bags, becoming all too common. ?????? a popular Indonesia band were performing on the beach when the tsunami suddenly crashed through the stage, taking band members and the crowd in its path and many of their lives. The tsunami destroying hundreds of buildings, hotels and homes after coming to shore. Cars and trucks thrown into buildings and on top of each other, and now its aftermath showing the devastation it left behind. These rooms where people were staying are just completely destroyed. You see the beds there, ruined. The natural disaster management agency confirming this morning that Indonesia's early warning system isn't set up to monitor landslides and shockingly hasn't been working since 2012, meaning people had no time to escape. More than 280killed, over 1,000 injured. Those numbers continues to rise as rescue workers try to get into areas that haven't been reached yet. With hospitals either wrecked by the tsunami or too far to transport, doctors flooding the areas to treat who they can. And family members hoping to reunite with their loved ones. The tsunami triggered by an underwater landslide after a volcano erupted. It is situated in the ocean between Indonesia's two most crowded islands. The areas lined with beautiful beaches, a popular destination with tourists, especially during the holidays. Well, this morning, residents living in those coastal areas being told to stay away and not go home because of the fear that more tsunamis could happen as that volcano continues to erupt, Dan. Ian, thank you. Let's go right now to Steve Mcandrew who is head of emergency operations for the international federation of red cross. Steve is in Jakarta right now. Steve, thank you for joining us on what we know is a very busy morning. Let me ask you since we know time is of the essence in a situation like this. What are the biggest challenges you're facing right now? Well, the biggest challenges we're facing right now is that it's now nighttime, and our search and rescue teams are still going through debris, through -- through houses that have been affected and they're still trying to find survivors at this time and at the same time, we have still an open risk of other tsunamis that may occur within the next 48 hours. We know there are hundreds and hundreds of injured. What kind of impact is caring for the injured having on the rescue and recovery efforts right now? We have recently run tsunami simulations and exercises prior to this within the previous months. So it's having an impact because we have to bring in resources from all parts of Indonesia and from Jakarta. So we're bringing in emergency health teams. We're bringing in ambulances, but we're still doing the basic search and rescue teams while those other resource we're bringing in are helping to triage and transport patients to the local and regional hospitals. How much hope are you holding out that you can find more survivors to be rescued? So we are holding out full hope. So we have seen -- I personally have seen people that have been rescued in some of our red cross earthquake operations up to 11 days after the event. And can you give us a sense of the extent of the damage that your people are seeing on the ground? As in any coastal area, especially a tourist area, there is damage to hotels. There is damage to resorts. There is a lot of damage right along the coastline, and some of the coastal roads are affected and they are inaccessible. We're having to access different areas via helicopters, via boats and at the same time, the Indonesian military and government are going full out with their efforts and making access -- every minute, the access is getting better. The challenges are access. The damage goes inland, but there is a point where the tsunami did not reach and everything is as it always was before. Steve Mcandrew, from the international federation of red cross, we thank you very much for your time during this incredibly busy time and we wish you the best of luck with what you have described as a monster job. Thank you. Thanks for having me. He called it a monster job and I'm always struck when we talk to rescue officials and authorities during times like this and the can-do attitude. Exactly. This happened 14 years at the same time of year in the same area, and what makes this different is it struck without any warning and it's a reminder that it doesn't always take an earthquake to unleash these devastaing walls of water.

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