JAKARTA, Indonesia — A powerful earthquake rocked the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on Friday, triggering 10-foot-tall tsunami that an official said swept away houses in at least two cities.
Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the tsunami hit Palu, the capital of central Sulawesi province, as well as the smaller city of Donggala and several other coastal settlements.
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 a large mosque that collapsed under the force.
Houses were swept away and families were reported missing, Nugroho said, adding that communications and power to the area were disrupted.
The region was rocked by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake Friday and numerous strong aftershocks, including one of magnitude 6.7. An earlier magnitude 6.1 quake in central Sulawsi killed several people, injured 10 and damaged dozens of houses.
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