Indonesia: Palu quake triggers 1.5-meter tsunami

Antara 29 Sep 18

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) Dwikorita Karnawati said the 7.4-magnitude earthquake in Donggala Central Sulawesi triggered a 1.5-meter tsunami in Palu.

"The sea water surged, ranging from six centimeters of the tide gauge in Mamuju at 5.27pm Western Indonesia Standard Time (WIB) and eye witnesses on the field saw the height of the tsunami reached 1.5 meters," the BMKG head told a press conference here on Friday.

The BMKG, which previously announced the magnitude of the earthquake at 7.7 on the Richter scale, updated the magnitude to 7.4 on the Richter scale, which occurred at 0.20 degrees southern latitude and 119 degrees eastern longitude at a depth of 11 kilometers.

Based on the agency`s standard, the earthquake could generate a tsunami at an alert level of over 50 centimeters to 3 meters, which could arrive onshore at 5.22pm (WIB).

The results of the BMKG monitoring showed that the water had continued to recede so that the tsunami warning ended at 5.36pm (WIB).

"This means that the 1.5-meter tsunami indeed took place but the incident ended at 5.36pm WIB, and thus, the BMKG ended the tsunami early warning," Karnawati said.

BMKG monitoring results showed that until 8pm WIB, 22 aftershocks followed with the smallest magnitude of 2.9 on the Richter scale and the strongest one at 6.3 on the Richter scale.

Reporting by Desi Purnamawati

Editor: Andi Abdussalam


Tsunami waves hit several parts of central Sulawesi: BNPB
Antara 28 Sep 18;

Jakarta, Sept 28 (ANTARA News) - The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) confirmed that tsunami waves had struck several parts of Central Sulawesi namely Talise and Donggala Beaches after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit the province on Friday afternoon.

"The BNPB has confirmed to the BPBD (Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency) that the tsunami hit the Talise coast in Palu City and the beach in Donggala," Head of Information Data and Public Relation Center BNPB Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said here on Friday.

The tsunami resulted in casualties. BNPB is still carrying out data collection to ensure the death toll. The victim who died was caused by the collapse of a building

"The tsunami also hit several settlements and buildings around the beach. The number of victims and is still being collected," he said.

BPBD officers, Military, National Police, National Search and Rescue Agency personnel, and volunteers evacuated and helped victims.

"The injured victims have been handled by health workers," he said.

The 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit Donggala District, around 73 kilometers from Palu, at 5:02 p.m. Jakarta time. Sutopo said in a written statement that the epicenter of the quake was located about 27 km north-east of Donggala at a depth of 10 km.

Reporting by Indra Arief

(UU.A063/B/A063/A014) 28-09-2018 23:49:24
Editor: Andi Abdussalam


Tsunami warning in C. Sulawesi revoked after wave subsided: BMKG
Kharishar Kahfi and Gemma Holliani Cahya Kharishar Kahfi and Gemma Holliani Cahya
The Jakarta Post 28 Sep 18;

Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) chairwoman Dwikorita Karnawati has confirmed that tsunami waves had struck several parts of Central Sulawesi after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit the province on Friday afternoon.

The agency said the waves struck at least two locations in the province, namely Mamuju and the provincial capital of Palu.

“According to our tide gauge in Mamuju, a rise in the sea level of 6 centimeters was recorded in the city at 5:27 p.m. Jakarta time. Meanwhile, witnesses in the field saw a 1.5-meter rise in the sea level in Palu,” Dwikorita said during a press briefing on Friday.

She claimed the height of the waves decreased gradually, prompting the agency to end the tsunami warning status at 5:36 p.m.

The agency confirmed a tsunami had struck the province hours after videos of what appeared to be a tsunami hitting Palu Grand Mall and Baiturrahman Mosque had been circulating online.

Critics have questioned why the agency decided to revoke the warning when a tsunami did take place.

The BMKG issued a tsunami warning for the western and central part of Sulawesi at 5:07 p.m. The warning, however, was revoked around 30 minutes later.

According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the BMKG had initially given a different reason for revoking the warning.

“The decision was based on visual monitoring and further monitoring using the equipment [tsunami detection buoys] at the sea for 30 minutes. The BMKG did not see any significant change in the sea level. That’s why they ended the alert,” BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a statement.

The 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Donggala regency, around 73 kilometers from Palu, at 5:02 p.m. Jakarta time. Sutopo said in a written statement that the epicenter of the quake was located about 27 km north-east of Donggala at a depth of 10 km.