Indonesia 7.5 Earthquake, Tsunami Hits Palu

Communications reported cut on Palu  

THE 5TH ESTATE
09/28/2018

A 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit just off central Sulawesi at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles) just before 18:00 (11:00 GMT), the US Geological Survey has reported and a tsunami has hit the coastal city of Palu, officials say. Another 5.8 quake followed shortly after.

The head of Indonesia's meteorology and geophysics agency (BMKG) Dwikorita Karnawati reported that the tsunami had receded.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, an official with the local disaster agency Akris said the Donggala area in central Sulawesi Province has sustained significant damage. “The earthquake and tsunami caused several casualties ... while initial reports show that victims died in the rubble of a collapsing building. The number of casualties and the full impact is still being calculated."

Images released by the agency showed a badly damaged shopping mall and major damage to buildings that were reduced to rubble.

Friday's large quake was centred 78km north of Palu the capital of Central Sulawesi province and was felt on the island of Lombok in its largest city Makassar and on the neighbouring island of Kalimantan. Lombok was recently hit by a series of powerful quakes killing over 550 people on the neighboring island of Sumbawa.

The 7.5-magnitude quake caused major damage to structures and roads

As of 7:40 p.m. Western Jakarta time authorities had yet to fully determine the full extent of the damage.

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