The death toll from the earthquake that caused the tsunami that hit the island's capital, Palu, the city of Donggala and other coastal villages is worsening by the hour. The electricity has gone out and communications are down. The US Geological Survey said the stronger of the two quakes had a magnitude of 7,5 on the Richter scale at a depth of 6 miles (10 kilometers), about 56 kilometers northeast of the central Sulawesi city, Donggala. . According to the latest data provided by the disaster management agency, the number of deaths has risen to 384 while the number of injured is 540.
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Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the national agency for disaster management, explained that at dawn the rescuers who arrived on the spot found themselves in front of the coast devastated by the tsunami, with waves three meters high, caused by the earthquake that overwhelmed two cities and different structures. The darkness and the interruptions to the telecommunication networks are hindering relief efforts and attempts by the Indonesian authorities to draw up a balance sheet of the damages and victims of the earthquake, he added that “until tomorrow morning the rescue will be limited. All national potential will be deployed, and tomorrow morning we will send a Hercules military transport plane and helicopters to provide assistance in the areas affected by the tsunami ”.
City mall destroyed, while communications are difficult as electricity has been cut hindering search and rescue efforts. Damage also to the tower and runway of Palu airport where flights are guaranteed by AirNav, which supervises air traffic.
Indonesia is one of the most risky countries in the world for earthquakes: the archipelago, which stretches for about 40.000 km with over 17 thousand islands, develops along the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire", a chain of seismic faults that it embraces the Pacific Ocean and along which hundreds of volcanoes rise.
Pacific Ring of Fire is home to some of the most powerful, imposing and lethal forces seen on our planet. The violent geological energies that have given the region its threatening name explain almost 90% of the earthquakes in the world. In the region we also find the three quarters of all the volcanoes in the world, active and inactive, that dot the Pacific coasts, snaking in the western seas from South America to Oceania.