Nearly 400 people were killed when a powerful quake sent a tsunami barrelling into the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, officials said Saturday, as hospitals struggled to cope with hundreds of injured and rescuers scrambled to reach the stricken region. The national disaster agency put the official death toll so far at 384, all of them in the tsunami-struck city of Palu, but warned the toll was likely to rise.
In Palu -- home to around 350,000 people -- partially covered bodies lay on the ground near the shore, the morning after tsunami waves 1.5 metres (five feet) high slammed into the city. Hospitals were overwhelmed by the influx of injured, with many people being treated in the open air, while other survivors helped to retrieve the remains of those who died.
There were also concerns over the whereabouts of hundreds of people preparing for a beach festival that had been due to start Friday evening, the disaster agency said.
Here are the highlights on the Indonesia Tsunami, Earthquake:
The tsunami up to 2 metres (six feet) high struck beaches as dusk fell in Palu, a sleepy but growing tourist resort, and the nearby fishing town of Donggala, closest to the epicentre of the quake 27 km away, officials said, according to Reuters.
"The earthquake and tsunami caused several casualties ... while initial reports show that victims died in the rubble of a collapsing building," National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told reporters. "The number of casualties and the full impact is still being calculated."
Sutopo said the disaster caused a power outage that cut communications in Donggala and surrounding areas. The Communications Ministry is working to repair 276 electricity base stations, the Reuters report said.
Officials said aftershocks, the communications breakdown and the power outage made it hard to coordinate rescue efforts.
More than 600,000 people live in Palu and Donggala.
Nearly 400 people died and scores of people were injured in #Palu city in Sulawesi Island of #Indonesia that hit by a major earthquake and tsunami yesterday. There are difficulties in reaching #Donggala city, so there is no reliable information for the casualities. pic.twitter.com/i2yO71qnjE
- Humanitarian Relief (@IHHen) September 29, 2018
384 dead in Indonesia earthquake, tsunami, reports news agency AFP pic.twitter.com/JPrnglDvCr
- NDTV (@ndtv) September 29, 2018
Indonesia Earthquake And Tsunami: When Tsunamis Strike: A Look At Five Deadliest Disasters
In Palu -- home to around 350,000 people -- partially covered bodies lay on the ground near the shore, the morning after tsunami waves 1.5 metres (five feet) high slammed into the city.
