Earthquake and Tsunami play havoc in Indonesia, more than 400 killed

Jakarta: Indonesia was hit by tsunami following a severe earthquake leaving more than 400 people dead. The calamity hit the Sulawesi Island in Indonesia wherein, many of the villages near the coast are said to have been destroyed. This is the third major earthquake in Indonesia in the last three months. Hundreds of civilians had lost their lives in the earthquakes that hit the Lombok Island region in the months of July and August.

The Palu town on the Sulawesi island was rocked by a powerful earthquake on Friday night. The earthquake measured 7.5 on the Richter scale and is the most powerful among the earthquakes over the last three months. It triggered tsunami waves as high as 10 to 15 feet hitting the coastline near Palu.

The coastal areas suffered major losses due to the earthquake followed by the tsunami and some villages are said to have been completely destructed. As per the information given by the Indonesian agencies, more than 400 people have died and the number of injured has crossed 500. Many are missing after the tsunami hit and there are fears of the number of dead increasing substantially.

The Indonesian military has initiated rescue operations and thousands of soldiers have been deployed for the same. The local agencies informed that hundreds of buildings, hospitals and places of worship have been destroyed in Palu town. This year Indonesia has consistently suffered earthquakes and those in July and August have taken more than 550 civilian lives.

In December 2004, Indonesia suffered an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale and the tsunami triggered by this earthquake had taken more than 150,000 lives.