Indonesia quake-tsunami death toll rises to 384

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 .

Some 540 people were badly injured , it added .

In the city — home to around 350 , 000 people — partially covered bodies lay on the ground near the shore , the day after tsunami waves 1 . 5 metres ( five feet ) came ashore .

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 .

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 .

One man was seen carrying the muddy corpse of a small child .

The tsunami was triggered by a strong quake that brought down buildings and sent locals fleeing for higher ground as a churning wall of water crashed into Palu , where there were widespread power blackouts .

– ‘ I just ran ’ –

Dramatic video footage captured from the top floor of a parking ramp in Palu , nearly 80 kilometres ( 50 miles ) from the quake ’ s epicentre , showed waves bring down several buildings and inundate a large mosque.

“ I just ran when I saw the waves hitting homes on the coastline , ” said Palu resident Rusidanto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name .

The shallow 7 . 5 magnitude tremor was more powerful than a series of quakes that killed hundreds on the Indonesian island of Lombok in July and August .

Indonesian president Joko Widodo said the military was being called into the disaster -struck region to help search – and -rescue teams get to victims and find bodies.

Earlier , the head of the country ’ s search and rescue agency Muhammad Syaugi told AFP that local staff had found “ many ” dead bodies.

“ We ’ re particularly concerned about the impact of the earthquake on children , who are more vulnerable to being swept away in tsunamis , ” said Tom Howells , of Save the Children .

People living hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre reported feeling the massive shake , which came hours after a smaller jolt killed at least one person in the same part of the country .

Palu and the surrounding region have been hit by about 100 aftershocks since Friday’ s tremors , officials said .

The quake hit just off central Sulawesi at a depth of 10 kilometres just before 1100 GMT — early evening in Sulawesi — the US Geological Survey said . Such shallow quakes tend to be more destructive .

Pictures supplied by the disaster agency showed a badly damaged shopping mall in Palu where at least one floor had collapsed onto the storey below , while other photographs showed major damage to buildings and large cracks across pavements .

The agency also said homes and a local hotel were flattened while a landmark city bridge was destroyed.

A key access road had been badly damaged and was blocked by landslides, the disaster agency said .

( AFP )

Download Edujandon.com News App QR-Code

Edujandon.com - 24/7 News Upda

Developer: Edujandon Enterprises

Price: Free