Magnitude 6.7 earthquake strikes near Palu in central Sulawesi, Indonesia
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck part of Sulawesi in central Indonesia on Tuesday, causing damage in and around the city of Palu. The tremor sent residents into open areas and prompted hospitals to evacuate patients outside as a precaution. Images from the area showed damaged buildings, including partially collapsed roofs, broken walls and debris in the streets.
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The quake was centred about 43 kilometres east-southeast of Palu, according to the information provided by the US Geological Survey, and occurred at a depth of about 10 kilometres. Indonesia's National Disaster Management Agency said it was still gathering information on damage, possible casualties and people displaced by the shaking. Several aftershocks followed, with the strongest reported at magnitude 5.2, while the country's meteorology and geophysics agency said there was no tsunami threat.
Palu is the capital of Central Sulawesi province and has a population of about 400,000. The city and surrounding areas were already deeply affected by the 2018 earthquake and tsunami, which killed more than 4,000 people and caused widespread destruction. That earlier disaster included a 3-metre tsunami and a phenomenon known as liquefaction, in which the ground collapses and can swallow entire neighbourhoods.
The memory of that event appeared to shape the response on Tuesday, with residents staying outdoors because of fears that more tremors could follow. The latest quake matters because central Sulawesi sits in a seismically active part of Indonesia, a country crossed by multiple fault lines where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common. Even when a tsunami does not materialise, strong shaking can still damage buildings, disrupt health services and force precautionary evacuations.
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The evacuation of hospital patients also shows how quickly a quake can affect essential services in a populated provincial capital. Officials said they were still assessing the scale of the damage and whether anyone had been injured or killed. The immediate focus remained on aftershocks, structural safety and whether people displaced from homes or hospitals would need longer-term support.
Further updates are likely to depend on the results of the ongoing damage assessment and any additional seismic activity.
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