PANGANDARAN, Indonesia — A tsunami crashed into beach resorts and fishing villages on Java island yesterday, killing at least 174 people and leaving scores missing after bulletins failed to reach the region because no warning system was in place.

The coastal area was spared by the devastating Asian tsunami of 2004, but many residents recognized the danger when they saw the sea recede.

Frantic tourists and villagers shouted “Tsunami! Tsunami!” as the more than 6-foot-high wave approached, some climbing trees or fleeing to higher ground to escape. Others crowded into inland mosques to pray.

Regional agencies had warned that a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck 150 miles off Indonesia’s southern coast was strong enough to create a tsunami on Java. But there was no warning system for those on the southern coast.

The hardest-hit area appeared to be Pangandaran, an idyllic beach resort popular with local and foreign tourists.

As darkness fell, at least 30 bodies were piled up at one clinic, including several children covered in white sheets, and thousands of terrified residents set up camp in the hills overlooking the sea.

Boats crashed to shore, some slamming into hotels, and houses and restaurants were flattened along a 110-mile stretch of the densely populated island’s southern coast.