HUNDREDS DEAD IN TSUNAMI DISASTER
Many more injured or missing after 20ft waves blitz Indonesia
Residents on Palu street devastated by the tsunami it struck was filmed by smartphone users, who shared the footage online.
Some people survived by climbing trees, said the disaster agency, adding: “The tsunami dragged along cars, logs and houses. It hit everything on land. Many bodies were found along the shore.”
Other video emerging from the disaster zone showed medics battling to treat the injured in makeshift medical tents outside a hospital. The missing include at least 76 guests at a flattened eight-storey hotel in Palu, and hundreds of people who were rehearsing for a festival at a sports stadium there when it collapsed.
Rescue efforts by emergency crews were last night being hampered by a major power cut and blocked roads.
Shelters were set up for people whose homes were destroyed. The meteorology and geophysics agency said: “The situation Victims of tsunami laid side-by-side on debris-covered beach
Man with dead child in his arms Aftermath of disaster in Palu is chaotic. People are running round on the streets and buildings have collapsed. Even a ship was washed ashore.” Palu’s airport was shut for commercial flights until October 4 because of damage to its runway and control tower. Military cargo planes bringing relief aid to survivors have begun arriving from the capital Jakarta. President Joko Widodo will visit evacuation centres today at Palu, home to 350,000 people. The crisis is expected to be far worse in the nearby fishing port of Donggala, which was closer to the epicentre, but communications remain cut off. Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and is regularly hit by earthquakes. Its authorities have been criticised for their response when the current disaster was imminent. A tsunami warning was issued, but lifted within the hour. Officials claimed that the alert was in place when the waves struck. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told of his great sadness at “the terrible loss of life”, adding: “My thoughts are with the victims, their families and the emergency services fighting to save lives.” nicola.fifield@sundaymirror.co.uk