Indonesia: Quake, tsunami death toll jumps to 384

Poso, Sep 29: At least 384 people have been killed after a strong tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake hit a coastal Indonesian city on Friday.

Hundreds people were injured in Palu on Sulawesi island where waves as high as 1.5 metres (five feet) slammed into the city of about 350,000 people.

In the city - home to around 350,000 people - partially covered bodies lay on the ground near the shore.

Rescue operations have started but a minister said on Friday that communications had been disrupted and that the runway in Palu was damaged.

Indonesian TV showed a smartphone video of a powerful wave hitting the provincial capital, Palu, with people screaming and running in fear.

As per the USGS tectonic summary, earthquake was preceded by a series of small-to-moderate sized earthquakes over the hours leading up to this event; the USGS located 4 other earthquakes of M 4.9 and larger in the epicentral region, beginning with a M 6.1 earthquake three hours earlier and just to the south of the M 7.5 event.

Last month, a series of deadly earthquakes struck the Indonesian island of Lombok, with the biggest, on 5 August, killing more than 460.

View of ruined property

In this photo released by the Disaster Management Agency, a house sits damaged after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake early Friday, Sept. 28, 2018, in Donggala, central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Powerful earthquakes jolted the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday, damaging houses and briefly triggered a tsunami warning. AP/PTI photo

A man carries the body of a child

A man carries the body of a child who was killed in the tsunami in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018. A powerful earthquake rocked the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday, triggering a 3-meter-tall (10-foot-tall) tsunami that an official said swept away houses in at least two cities. AP/PTI photo

Mosque ruined

The ruin of a mosque badly damaged by earthquake and tsunami is seen in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018. AP/PTI photo

Damaged department store building

A department store building is seen heavily damaged by earthquake in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018. The powerful earthquake rocked the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday. AP/PTI photo

Evacuation of patient

A patient is evacuated from a hospital following a strong earthquake in Poso, central Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, Sept. 28, 2018. Powerful earthquakes jolted the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday. AP/PTI photo

(With PTI inputs)