Tsunami sweeps away buildings in Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A powerful earthquake rocked the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday, triggering a 10-foot tsunami that an official said swept away houses in at least two cities.
Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the tsunami hit Palu, the capital of central Sulawesi province, as well as the smaller city of Donggala and several other coastal settlements.
Indonesian TV showed a smartphone video of a powerful wave hitting Palu, with people screaming and running in fear. The water smashed into buildings, and a large mosque collapsed under the force.
Houses were swept away and families were reported missing, Nugroho said, adding that communications and power to the area were disrupted. “The cut to telecommunications and darkness are hampering efforts to obtain information,” he said. “All national potential will be deployed, and tomorrow morning we will deploy Hercules and helicopters to provide assistance in tsunami-affected areas.”
The region was rocked by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake Friday and numerous strong aftershocks, including one of magnitude 6.7. An earlier magnitude 6.1 quake in central Sulawesi killed several people, injured 10 and damaged dozens of houses.
The chief of the meteorology and geophysics agency, Dwikorita Karnawati, said the tsunami waves were up to 10 feet. She said the tsunami warning triggered by the biggest quake, in place for about half an hour, was lifted after the tsunami was over.
Nugroho said the military was deploying troops to Palu and Donggala and the national police also were mobilizing to help the emergency response, as well as personnel from the search-and-rescue and disaster agencies. “People are encouraged to remain vigilant,” Nugroho said. “It is better not to be in a house or building because the potential for aftershocks can be dangerous. People are encouraged to gather in safe areas. Avoid the slopes of hills.”
Palu’s airport halted operations for 24 hours because of earthquake damage, according to AirNav, which oversees airline traffic in Indonesia.
After the 7.5 quake struck, television footage showed people running into the streets. Women and children wailed hysterically in a video distributed by the disaster agency, which also released a photo showing a heavily damaged department store.