tsunami

Indonesia searches for survivors after powerful quake, tsunami

MNA International Desk: More than 400 people were confirmed killed, many swept away as tsunami waves triggered by a massive earthquake crashed into the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, and authorities expected the toll to rise sharply on Sunday as news arrives from remote areas.

Dozens of people were reported to be still trapped in the rubble of a hotel and a mall in the city of Palu, which was hit by waves as high as six meters (20 feet) following the 7.5 magnitude earthquake.

With the death toll so far from Palu alone and reports only slowly filtering in from Donggal, a region of 300,000 people north of Palu and closer to the epicenter, authorities are bracing for worse to come.

Indonesia’s Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the toll could rise to thousands.

Hundreds of people had gathered for a festival on the Palu’s beach when the wall of water smashed onshore at dusk on Friday, sweeping many to their deaths and destroying anything in its path. Indonesian President Joko Widodo was scheduled to visit evacuation centers in the city on Sunday.

The Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Willem Rampangilei, told reporters in Sulawesi late on Saturday the death toll from Palu had reached 420 people, reported news agency.

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