MAKASSAR, Indonesia — Scores of people were killed when a powerful quake and tsunami struck central Indonesia, an AFP photographer at the scene said on Saturday, as rescuers scrambled to reach the stricken region. The shallow 7.5 magnitude tremor was more powerful than a series of quakes that killed hundreds on the Indonesian island of Lombok in July and August. Earlier this year, a series of powerful quakes hit Lombok, killing more than 550 people on the holiday island and neighbouring Sumbawa. Indonesia has been hit by a string of other deadly quakes including a devastating 9.1 magnitude tremor that struck off the coast of Sumatra in 2004. That quake triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region, including 168,000 in Indonesia.

Source: Philippine Star September 29, 2018 01:18 UTC