Indonesian city Palu hit by tsunami after powerful earthquake

Indonesian city of Palu was hit by tsunami after a strong earthquake, the geophysics agency said.

JAKARTA: The Indonesian city of Palu was slammed by waves from a tsunami set off by a powerful earthquake that rippled across the region, the country's disaster agency said on Friday.

"A tsunami has happened in Palu," Rahmat Triyono, head of the agency's earthquake and tsunami division, said referring to the city of 350,000 nearly 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the earthquake's epicentre. 

The huge tremor destroyed buildings and sent panicked residents fleeing into the streets.

More than 6 feet high Tsunami waves hit shoreline of Palu city and several buildings collapsed, the Strait Times said. 

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Indonesia's geophysics agency said that a powerful Sulawesi earthquake caused a tsunami, apparently after the agency lifted a tsunami warning.

Hary Tirto Djatmiko confirmed that a tsunami occurred. 

He said the agency was still collecting information and would release it after confirming its accuracy.

Indonesian TV showed a smartphone video of a powerful wave hitting the provincial capital, Palu, with people screaming and running in fear.  

This footage shows a catastrophic moment when a tsunami hit the city of Palu after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake earlier in the evening.