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A man examines the damage caused by an earthquake and tsunami in Palu, central Sulawesi, Indonesia, Saturday, September 29, 2018. The powerful earthquake hit Indonesia's Sulawesi island Friday, causing a 3-meter drop (10 feet). large) tsunami that one official said took away homes in at least two cities. (Rifki / Associated Press)
PALU, Indonesia – A tsunami that struck two cities in central Indonesia swept buildings and pulverized a major bridge, sinking victims into a devastated landscape that relief efforts struggled to reach on Saturday.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the agency responsible for the disasters, said that 384 people had been killed in the only hard-hit city of Palu.
The neighboring city of Donggala and the town of Mamuju have also been severely affected by the 3-meter (10-foot) tsunami but have not yet been reached through road clean-up and disruption of telecommunications.
Nugroho said that "dozens to hundreds" of people were participating in a beach festival in Palu when the tsunami, triggered by an earthquake of magnitude 7.5, hit Friday night and their fate was unknown .
Palu, which has more than 380,000 people, was littered with debris from collapsed buildings. A mosque heavily damaged by the earthquake was half submerged and a shopping center was reduced to a crumpled hulk. Some bodies were partially covered with tarpaulins and a man was carrying a dead child through the wreckage.
The city is built around a narrow bay that apparently amplified the strength of the tsunami waters as they headed for the narrow entrance.
In Donggala, home to nearly 300,000 people, a large yellow-arched bridge spanning a coastal river had collapsed.
Indonesian television broadcast a smartphone video showing a powerful wave hitting Palu, with people screaming and running in fear. The water has broken buildings and the mosque damaged.
Communications with the region has been difficult because electricity and telecommunications have been cut off, hampering search and rescue efforts.
Nugroho said that essential planes could land at Palu airport, although AirNav, which oversees the navigation of the aircraft, said the runway was cracked and that the control tower had been damaged.
"We hope that international satellites crossing Indonesia will be able to capture images and provide them to us so that we can use these images to prepare humanitarian aid," Nugroho said.
AirNav said one of its 21-year-old air traffic controllers was dead in the earthquake after staying in the tower to make sure the flight he had just approved for the departure was well suspended. . It made.
Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said Friday night that he had instructed the Security Minister to coordinate the government's response to the disaster.
Jokowi also told reporters in his hometown of Solo that he had called on the country's army chief to participate in the search and rescue efforts.
UK spokesman Stephane Dujarric said United Kingdom officials are in contact with the Indonesian authorities and "stand ready to provide support as needed".
Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because of its location on the "Ring of Fire", an arch of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
On August 5, a powerful earthquake on Lombok Island killed 505 people, most of whom died in ruined buildings. Another series of strong earthquakes in mid-August killed at least a dozen people in Lombok and the neighboring island of Sumbawa.
In December 2004, a major earthquake of magnitude 9.1 off the island of Sumatra, in western Indonesia, triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries.
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AP reporter Rifki goes by name. Wright reported from Jakarta, Indonesia.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
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