SEPTEMBER 28, 2018
The Indonesian city of Palu has been hit by tsunami waves after a strong 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
“A tsunami has happened in Palu,” said Rahmat Triyono, head of BMKG’s earthquake and tsunami division, referring to the city of 350,000 nearly 80 kilometres from the earthquake’s epicentre.
Indonesian TV showed a smartphone video of a powerful wave hitting the provincial capital, Palu, with people screaming and running in fear, according to the Associated Press.
The Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics initially issued a tsunami alert, warning of the possibility of up to three metre high waves, but withdrew it later.
The tsunami struck, apparently after the warning was lifted.
Another view of the major tsunami reported to have hit Palu, Indonesia after M 7.5 earthquake today, Sept 28! Report: Catastrophes Mundiales pic.twitter.com/TShiOyTViB
— severe-weather.EU (@severeweatherEU) September 28, 2018
The earthquake followed a 6.1 magnitude tremor that struck the same region, killing one person and injuring 10 earlier in the day. Several buildings were collapsed. The spokesperson of the National Disaster Management Agency said in a statement that the first quake lasted 10 seconds and forced panicked residents to rush of their houses.
At least 557 people died and almost 400,000 were displaced by four earthquakes with intensities varying between 6.3 and 6.9 magnitude which struck Lombok island between July 29 and August 19.
Indonesia’s deadliest ever tremor struck Sumatra island in 2014 and triggered a tsunami that killed nearly 280,000 people in around a dozen countries along the Indian Ocean, with the biggest number of casualties registered in Indonesia.
The country sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of great seismic and volcanic activities, where some 7,000 earthquakes, mostly moderate, are recorded each year.
Courtesy: NDTV
