Central Sulawesi quake: What we know so far

Central Sulawesi quake: What we know so far

A tsunami hit Palu, Donggala and Mamuju in Central Sulawesi on Friday evening, triggered by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake that rocked the province at 5:02 p.m. Jakarta time. The epicenter of the quake is about 27 kilometers northeast of Donggala and 10 km deep.

Prior to the earthquake, in the afternoon, Donggala regency was hit by a 6.0 magnitude quake that killed at least one and injured several others. The quake struck about 2 km north of Donggala at a depth of 10 km and lasted 10 seconds. The earthquake was followed by several aftershocks of magnitudes between 3.2 and 5. The main quake was felt in Donggala, Palu and Poso.

Soon after the evening quake, a tsunami warning for Central Sulawesi was issued at 5:07 p.m. The warning, however, was revoked around 30 minutes later. Soon, pictures and video footage of buildings being hit by water went viral on social media. Confusion ensued due to a lack of information from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) as communications were cut off.

It was only later that the BNPB confirmed that a tsunami had occurred. Its wave reached 1.5 meters high and hit, among other structures, Palu Grand Mall and Baiturrahman Mosque, both located near the coastline.

On Wednesday, the Palu Meteorological, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) in Central Sulawesi said the region had been rocked by 30 earthquakes daily over the last four months. The daily quakes were caused by shifts in the Palu-Koro fault, which extends from Poso to the waters of Tolitoli regency and branches off to the Matano fault in South Sulawesi.

Source : TheJakartapost.com