Palu, Indonesia — A tsunami that hit two central Indonesian cities swept away buildings and at least several hundred people, dumping victims caught in its relentless path across a devastated landscape that rescuers were struggling to reach Saturday, hindered by damaged roads and broken communications.
Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said 384 people were killed in the hard-hit city of Palu alone.
The nearby city of Donggala and the town of Mamuju were also severely affected by the 3-meter (10-foot) -high tsunami but have not yet been reached by aid due to damaged roads and disrupted telecommunications.
Nugroho said “tens to hundreds” of people were taking part in a beach festival in Palu when the tsunami, which was triggered by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake, struck at dusk on Friday. Their fate was unknown.
Palu, which has more than 380,000 people, was strewn with debris from collapsed buildings.
A mosque heavily damaged by the quake was half submerged and a shopping mall was reduced to a crumpled hulk.
A large bridge with yellow arches had collapsed.
Bodies lay partially covered by tarpaulins and a man carried a dead child through the wreckage.
The city is built around a narrow bay that apparently magnified the force of the tsunami waters as they raced into the tight inlet.
Indonesian TV showed a smartphone video of a powerful wave hitting Palu, with people screaming and running in fear.
The water smashed into buildings and the damaged mosque.
Communications with the area were difficult because power and telecommunications were cut, hampering search and rescue efforts.
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