Indonesia struck by powerful earthquake, tsunami leaving scores dead

Partially covered bodies lay on the ground near the shore, the morning after tsunami waves 1.5 metres high slammed into Palu city.

A powerful quake and tsunami left scores dead on the central Indonesian island of Sulawesi, officials said Saturday, as hospitals struggled to cope with hundreds of injured and rescuers scrambled to reach the stricken region. (Photo | AP) 

Disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho told a news conference that four hospitals in the central Sulawesi city of Palu have reported 48 dead and hundreds of injured. He said 'many victims' are still to be accounted for. (Photo | AP)

Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi province, was strewn with debris from collapsed buildings. Seawater still pooled inland and a mosque heavily damaged by the quake was half submerged. A shopping mall in the paralyzed city of more than 380,000 people had been reduced to a crumpled hulk. (Photo | AP)

In the city, home to around 350,000 people, partially covered bodies lay on the ground near the shore, the morning after tsunami waves 1.5 metres (five feet) high slammed into the city. (Photo | AP)

The tsunami was triggered by a strong quake that brought down buildings and sent locals fleeing for higher ground as a churning wall of water crashed into Palu, where there were widespread power blackouts. (Photo | AP)

Indonesian president Joko Widodo said the military was being called in to the disaster-struck region to help search-and-rescue teams get to victims and find bodies. (Photo | AP)

People living hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre reported feeling the massive shake, which came hours after a smaller jolt killed at least one person in the same part of the country. (Photo | AP)

The main airport in Palu was shut after the tsunami struck and was expected to stay closed for at least 24 hours, complicating any disaster relief efforts. (Photo | AP)

Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because of its location on the 'Ring of Fire,' an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin. (Photo | AP)