URL https://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL4N1WF00X

DATE/ AUTHOR 2018-09-29 03:14:10+00:00	AUTHORS: Gayatri Suroyo, Min Read

H UPDATE 2-Quake, tsunami kills at least 30 on Indonesia's Sulawesi island

S1 (Adds fresh quotes on aid, details on rescue operations)

S2 By Gayatri Suroyo

S3 JAKARTA, Sept 29 (Reuters) - At least 30 people were killed when a major earthquake and tsunami hit the city of Palu on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island on Friday, a hospital official told Metro TV in a report broadcast on Saturday.

S4 Strong aftershocks continued to rock the coastal city on Saturday morning after waves up to two metres (six feet) high swept through the scenic tourist town, triggered by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake on land.

S5 Amateur footage shown by local TV stations, which could not immediately be authenticated by Reuters, showed waters crashing into houses along Palu’s shoreline, scattering shipping containers and flooding into a mosque in the city.

S6 “Bodies of victims were found in several places, because they were hit by the rubble of collapsing buildings or swept away by the tsunami ... but we are still collecting data,” Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman said on Saturday.

S7 Doctor Komang Adi Sujendra told Metro TV that 30 people were killed and their bodies taken to his hospital, adding another 12 injured needed orthopaedic surgery.

S8 National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Nugroho declined to give an official death toll.

S9 Dozens of injured people were being treated in makeshift medical tents set up outdoors, TV images showed.

S10 The quake and tsunami caused a power outage that cut communications around Palu.
S11 On Saturday, authorities were still having difficulties coordinating rescue efforts.

S12 Chief security minister Wiranto told TVOne the military had started sending in cargo planes from the capital Jakarta carrying relief aid.

S13 The city’s airport remained closed after its runway and air traffic control tower was damaged in the quake but officials said they were preparing to reopen to allow aid to come in.

S14 “We hope the airport can be reopened soon for flights carrying disaster relief and aid,” said Yohannes Sirait of AirNav, the air traffic management agency.

S15 Metro TV played amateur footage that showed large pools of water remaining from the tsunami, a bridge that had been washed away, large cracks in roads and buildings badly damaged.

S16 Tezar Kodongan, a resident of Palu who took one of the videos, told the TV station some of the city landmarks were badly damaged.

S17 “There is no evacuation yet in the disaster area,” Kodongan added.

S18 The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude of the second quake at a strong 7.5, after first saying it was 7.7.

S19 The Palu area was hit by a less powerful quake earlier on Friday, which destroyed some houses, killed one person and injured at least 10 in the fishing town of Donggala, closest to the epicentre, authorities said.

S20 More than 600,000 people live in Donggala and Palu.

S21 Indonesia sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and is regularly hit by earthquakes.
S22 In August, a series of major quakes killed over 500 people in the tourist island of Lombok and destroyed dozens of villages along its northern coast.
S23 (Additional reporting by Kanupriya Kapoor, Fransiska Nangoy, Fanny Potkin, Tabita Diela; Editing by Michael Perry)

