Tsunami hits Indonesia after two Friday quakes

A tsunami hit central Sulawesi, Indonesia, on Friday, triggered by the second of two massive earthquakes earlier in the day. The tsunami swept away houses and families were missing, Indonesian disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a TV interview. He said search and rescue efforts were underway, but operations were hampered by darkness. Communications are down in central Sulawesi, where the tsunami hit the provincial capital of Palu and the city of Donggala.

“All national potential will be deployed, and tomorrow morning we will deploy Hercules and helicopters to provide assistance in tsunami-affected areas,” Nugroho said Friday.

Indonesia’s geophysics agency released a tsunami warning after the second, more powerful 7.5 earthquake but had lifted it about half an hour later before the tsunami struck the country. The earthquake caused many houses to collapse and was followed by several powerful aftershocks, including one registering as a 6.7. A magnitude 6.1 earthquake hit the same area earlier Friday, killing one person, injuring 10, and damaging dozens of houses.