Indonesian quake: Tsunami kills over 500, devastates cities

PALU, Indonesia: More than 500 people have been confirmed dead after a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit an Indonesian city on Friday.

Waves up to 3m (10ft) high swept through Palu on Sulawesi Island, international media reported.

Just 34 minutes after the latest major earthquake to strike Indonesia, officials called off a tsunami warning. Aid agencies and others — still dealing with the aftermath of a devastating quake in August — breathed a sigh of relief.

What they didn’t know was that, just about that same time, a 10-foot wall of seawater was tearing through the city of Palu.

Amid the roar of onrushing sea and terrified cries for help, the tsunami tore homes off their foundations, snapped palm trees and dragged away victims — some preparing for a beach festival. Bodies were later left on the sand as the waters receded, and some were dragged out to sea.

More than 420 died in Palu alone, officials said Saturday as they began to take stock of the devastation. Among the dead was a young Indonesian air-traffic controller who stayed at his post when the earthquake hit to ensure that a plane carrying hundreds of passengers took off safely.

The death toll was expected to rise significantly as rescue officials race to reach another city, Donggala, and some settlements completely cut off by the quake and tsunami triggered by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake off the central Indonesian island of Sulawesi, about 800 miles northwest of Jakarta.

“When the threat arose yesterday, people were still doing their activities on the beach and did not immediately run and they became victims,” he told a news briefing.

“The tsunami didn’t come by itself - it dragged cars, logs, houses - it hit everything on land.”

Some survived by climbing 6m (18ft) trees to escape the huge waves, the spokesman said.

A less powerful quake earlier on Friday had killed at least one person and injured at least 10 in the smaller fishing town of Donggala.

In Palu, hundreds of people had been preparing for a beach festival that was due to start on Friday night.

The city’s main hospital was damaged in the quake, and TV footage showed dozens of injured people being treated outside in makeshift medical tents.

Palu and Donggala are home to more than 600,000 people. President Joko Widodo said troops were en route to the area to reinforce rescue teams and help retrieve bodies.

The main airport in Palu has been closed since the tsunami hit. A minister said the runway had been damaged but that it was hoped helicopters would still be able to land.

The country’s military is sending cargo planes of relief aid from Jakarta.

Officials are urging locals not to enter their homes and to sleep away from buildings due to the risk of aftershocks.

The earthquake hit just off central Sulawesi at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles) just before 18:00 on Friday (10:00 GMT), the US Geological Survey said.

A tsunami warning was issued, but lifted within the hour.

Indonesia’s meteorological agency has been criticised for its response, but officials said the waves struck while the warning was in place.

Dramatic video of the tsunami hitting Palu shows the high waves sweeping away several buildings and then the large tilted mosque in the town, about 80km from the quake’s epicenter.

“The situation is chaotic, people are running on the streets and buildings collapsed. There is a ship washed ashore,” said Dwikorita Karnawati, head of Indonesia’s meteorology and geophysics agency.

A 2004 tsunami triggered by an earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra killed 226,000 across the Indian Ocean, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because it lies on the Ring of Fire - the line of frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions that circles virtually the entire Pacific Rim.

More than half of the world’s active volcanoes above sea level are part of the ring.