50 killed as 7.5-quake leads to tsunami in Indonesia
Jakarta, Sep 29 : At least 50 people have been confirmed dead by officials on Saturday after a strong tsunami triggered by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit a coastal Indonesian city on Friday.
Over 350 others were injured, a disaster agency official said on Saturday after three shallow quakes of 6.0, 7.4 and 6.1-magnitude struck off the central province and triggered the tsunami near Talisa beach of Dongala district.
Waves up to 2 metre high swept through Palu on Sulawesi island. Video on social media showed people screaming and fleeing in panic and a mosque amongst the buildings damaged, the BBC reported.
All victims have been rushed to hospitals, spokesman of the national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.
The casualties were only counted in Palu, and the victims in Donggala district, including the coastal areas near Talisa beach, were not included in the figure, Nugroho told Xinhua news agency.
"Accordingly, the death toll and injuries as well as the damage will likely climb," he said. Most victims were hit by debris and falling blocks of concretes.
The tsunami triggered by the quake devastated buildings and residential areas in the coastal areas. Specific damage was still unknown as the risk assessment was underway, the meteorology and geophysics agency said.
Soldiers, police, disaster management agency personnel and volunteers were evacuating the quake and tsunami victims. Power outage has cut off communications hampering relief efforts, Nugroho said.
"We have not received comprehensive reports yet because communications are cut. Many bodies were found along the shoreline because of the tsunami, but the numbers are still unknown," Nugroho told the media.
It was not clear whether the deaths came in the quake or the resulting tsunami.
Palu is home to more than 300,000 people. Rescue operations have started but a minister said that communications had been disrupted and that the runway in the city was damaged, although it was hoped that helicopters would still be able to land.
The Jakarta Post reported that Hercules aircraft was deployed to provide disaster relief in Palu.
The earthquake hit around 6 p.m. on Friday. A tsunami warning was issued, but lifted within the hour. Dramatic video of the tsunami hitting Palu showed high waves sweeping away several buildings and then the large tilted mosque in the town, about 80 km from the quake's epicentre.
"The situation is chaotic, people are running on the streets and buildings collapsed. There is a ship washed ashore," said Dwikorita Karnawati, head of Indonesia's meteorology and geophysics agency.
In August, a series of deadly quakes struck the Indonesian island of Lombok, with the biggest, on August 5, killing more than 460.
A 2004 tsunami triggered by an earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra killed 226,000 across the Indian Ocean, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.
Indonesia is prone to earthquakes because it lies on the Ring of Fire -- the line of frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions that circles virtually the entire Pacific rim.
More than half of the world's active volcanoes above sea level are part of the ring.
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After fake ID crackdown, IRCTC daily new accounts down to 5000 from one lakh: Railways
New Delhi (PTI): With a new, stringent system to establish user identity, the number of new user IDs being added daily on the IRCTC website has declined to about 5,000 from nearly one lakh, officials said on Saturday.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw noted that the crackdown by Indian Railways on train ticket booking through fake identities is yielding positive results, according to a press note.
Before the latest reforms, this number had touched nearly one lakh new user IDs per day, it said.
"Following the introduction of a stringent system to establish user identity and detect fake IDs, about 5,000 new user IDs are now being added daily on the IRCTC website," the note said.
The officials stated that these steps have already helped Indian Railways deactivate 3.03 crore fake accounts.
"Another 2.7 crore user IDs have either been temporarily suspended or identified for suspension based on the suspicious activities they are indulging in," they said.
The Union minister directed officials to ensure that the ticketing system is reformed to a level where all travellers are able to book tickets easily through a real and genuine user ID, the press note added.
Additionally, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has directed officials to provide local cuisine of the region in Vande Bharat trains.
Introducing local cuisine that reflects the culture and tastes of the regions being traversed will significantly enhance the passenger experience, officials said.
This facility will be expanded to all the trains progressively in future, they added.
